Guns Save Lives – by Dan Cannon
Last month, a bill was introduced in Massachusetts that, among other gun control provisions, would give local police chiefs an enormous amount of power to determine who in their jurisdiction could own a long gun (rifle or shotgun).
The bill originated in the state House, but fortunately, the state Senate, in a moment of semi-clarity, gutted that provision from the bill.
The bill is currently being hashed out between the Senate and House to determine which version will ultimately get passed. In the meantime, MA police chiefs (who are apparently terrible), are speaking out in favor of the provision that would allow them to control long gun ownership.
According to Fox News,
“Our position is really very, very simple,” said Wayne Sampson, executive director of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association. “We, as an association, believe that it’s unconscionable that if we determine a person is unsuitable to carry a handgun, that they can then turn around and apply for a Firearms Identification Card, which allows them, by law, to purchase rifles and shotguns. And there’s no way we can impose any restrictions on that. It just doesn’t make sense.”
Sampson, who attended Tuesday’s rally along with Boston Police Commissioner William Evans, the city’s former top cop, Ed Davis, and several other chiefs, told FoxNews.com that the organization’s 351 chiefs are willing to work with legislators to find a compromise, but stressed that no one else in the state’s patchwork of towns and communities has a better grasp of who is fit to possess firearms.
“In our smaller communities, it’s very easy to check how many responses we’ve received for a certain address,” he said. “We know whether it’s a parent or a child having problems, or if it’s a domestic situation [involving a gun]. These are things that are very legitimate for us to take into consideration. It’s all about public safety.”
Really? Wow, those are simply amazing statements and it goes to show how disconnected strict gun control states are from most of the country. These guys shouldn’t have ANY say in who can carry a gun, let alone who can own one in their own home.
When I used to hunt the North East, Vermont and New Hampshire, I used to cringe when I had to drive through Mass. This was 45 years ago, and just having a weapon (rifle) without stopping at the closest police station when you crossed the border, would land you in jail. We never stopped because we didn’t like the hassle the police gave us for driving through their state. They could search your vehicle without a warrant, and if found with a handgun, off to jail. We always carried handguns for backup when hunting, and saw no reason to stop and risk a search. So we did not wear orange until out of Mass. I can only image what a police state it has become, with everyone hunkered down in their homes. Give me liberty or give me death.
Typical Tyrannical PIG.
Sounds more and more like Belfast to me. If we don’t have a gun we will just have to use a bomb.
Pure 100% communist filth !
These creatures need to be hung !
Pathetic! Massachusetts..where American liberty was born.. and where it died. They even tried to remove the musket from the hands of the statue of the Minuteman at Lexington.