CALIFORNIA POLICE CHIEF: ‘A GUN IS NOT A DEFENSIVE WEAPON — THAT IS A MYTH’
Feb. 14, 2013 5:52pm
Earlier
this month, Emeryville, Calif. Police Chief Ken James argued that a gun is not a “defensive
weapon” but rather an “offensive weapon used to intimidate and used to show
power.”
“One issue that always
boggles my mind is that the idea that a gun is a defensive weapon,” he said.
“That is a myth. A gun is not a defensive weapon.”
He was speaking during a
press conference promoting strict gun laws in California. James is also the
chairman of the Police Chief Association’s Firearms Committee.
“A gun is an offensive
weapon used to intimidate and show power,” James added. “Police officers don’t
carry a gun as a defensive weapon to defend themselves or their other officers.
They carry a gun to be able to do their job in a safe and effective manner and
face any oppositions we may come upon.”
He went on: “If it was a defensive measure, why did we lose 55
officers nationwide last year to gun violence? And unfortunately, in just the
two months of this year so far, we have lost two officers to gun violence in
the state of California alone…We are asking and have been asking for reasonable
regulations, not that are going to impact the legal gun owner.”
Those reasonable
regulations include a ban on semi-automatic rifles, high capacity magazines and
universal background checks. Lawmakers in California — and now Missouri — have alsoproposed legislation that
includes potential confiscation of
semi-automatic rifles.
Do you agree that a gun
is not a “defensive” weapon?
