This is what I e-mailed LAPD Chief Bratton last night:
Dear Sir,
As an American, I am utterly disgusted with the remarks Chief Bratton made while performing on the ABC News program "Nightline." I cannot bring myself to call his stint an "interview," given the sheer magnitude of half-truths and whole lies he offered up in his defense of the '94 Assault Weapon Ban.
Saying with a straight face (albeit with eyelids fluttering away like a hummingbird's wings) that the sunset of this law will lead to carnage and blood in the streets is not only folly and hyperbole, it is agenda-driven sensationalism.
Even more bizarre is his comment concerning about 50 police officers being killed by people using assault weapons recently. The chief alluded to the fact that the AWB was important to the families of the slain officers and implied that the law worked for them. What sane person with two brain cells to rub together could make such a claim? Those officers were killed, it was implied, by rifles covered by the ban. HOW DID THE AWB PROTECT THOSE OFFICERS? How on this green earth did the AWB benefit the families of the slain officers? Does the chief have an answer or just more lies?
As underhanded as those comments were, it pales in comparison with the following: While discussing the amount of guns in America and those who own them, the chief said that President George W. Bush took an oath of office to protect the country "against all...action, foreign and domestic." I could see the chief pause right before replacing the word "enemies" with "action." What was the chief implying? That American gun owners and the guns they own are "enemies of the state?" That the Federal Government should treat us as such? It is astounding that a law enforcement officer would even mutter such a thing in private conversation, let alone ON NATIONAL TELEVISION. What would the chief like to see? Detainment camps full of law-abiding American citizens? Private property siezed and destroyed under the guise of "public safety?" Is THIS the role Chief Bratton wishes law enforcement had in the United States? The shame!
It's been said that law-abiding Americans have nothing to fear from their law-enforcement servants. After Chief Bratton's performance tonight, I am convinced there is plenty to fear.
Sincerely,
Wobblin' Goblin
Former State Representative
51st District
State of Connecticut