What's a few dead cops to the gun lobby?

Miami Herald
Posted on Thu, Jun. 05, 2008

BY FRED GRIMM
[email protected]

The shock was in the weight of the thing. Less than six pounds.

It was a cop's weapon, a semiautomatic assault rifle of dull anodized black steel, stripped down to an unadorned functionality.

How light it felt in my hands. Like a toy gun.

I thought how easy it would be for some kid, some 110-pound wild-dog street punk, to heft an AR-6520 and wield it to hellish effect.

No wonder Fort Lauderdale is spending $82,000 for guns designed to kill enemy soldiers. Police know that since the expiration of the federal assault weapon ban, young criminals have ginned up the arms race.

Gun peddlers visit gun stores and shows where they make legal purchases of semiautomatic military assault guns powerful enough to penetrate walls, doors, cars -- powerful enough to render a police officer's bulletproof vest obsolete.

They flip them. Sell them out of car trunks at twice the price to gangbangers, drug dealers and armed robbers who want to upgrade to cop killers. Sell them to felons. Sell them to kids. Sell them to certifiably crazy people as long as crazy people can ante up a cold three grand.

PRO-GUN CONGRESS

Last year, the feds indicted four gun merchants on charges they had purchased more than 150 assault weapons and accessories, including a 90-round clip, and resold them in northwest Miami-Dade's toughest neighborhoods.

Chew on that: A young aspiring criminal no longer thinks his 9mm automatic pistol packs enough death. He's willing to pay street prices for an AK-47 with a 90-round clip.

The Fort Lauderdale police department held a news conference Wednesday to talk about the purchase of 100 Colt AR-6520 rifles. The city's cops were authorized semiautomatic weapons back in 2001 but it was up to individual patrolmen to buy their own. A lot has changed since 2001.

In 2004, Congress allowed the ban on assault weapons to expire. The federal law suffered major loopholes, but it still had the effect of tamping down the firepower cops faced on the streets. Since the ban was jettisoned, police groups like the International Association of Chiefs of Police have lamented that the bad guys have the cops outgunned.

NEW REALITY

Nationwide, even as police departments beg Congress to reinstate the assault weapon ban, they're reluctantly dealing with the new reality. Last month, Washington D.C., announced that city patrol cars would be equipped with AR-15 assault rifles, following cities like Miami, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, even Waterloo, Iowa.

The danger has become painfully obvious to any department in the vicinity of Miami-Dade County. Two officers have been murdered in the past nine months by gunmen carrying variations of the AK-47. In September, Miami-Dade officer Jose Somohano was killed and two other officers wounded. In February, Miami Detective James Walker was murdered as he sat in his car.

Fort Lauderdale cops see the increase in firearm savagery a few miles south. They understand the new reality.

Congress demonstrated in 2004 how much value was placed on the mythical right of private citizens to own semiautomatic military assault rifles.

How much? More than a few dead cops.

This guy will probably have a coronary after the Heller decision comes out this month.

dupe
ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=1&f=5&t=717207

It would be easier to point out what is true in that 'article' than what is false.

IB4TL dupage

Gun peddlers visit gun stores and shows where they make legal purchases of semiautomatic military assault guns powerful enough to penetrate walls, doors, cars -- powerful enough to render a police officer's bulletproof vest obsolete.

My XD9 can puncture walls, doors and cars...havent tried it on a vest yet, though...

Quoted: Gee Fred, that's pretty Grim.

Puns are the lowest form of humor.

Why then, do I love them so?  

Anodized steel?

Um...ARs don't have a lot of steel on them and you can't anodize steel FAIL on the first line.

What's a few dead innocent civilians to the nazi-fuck pro-marxist lobby ?

I've only ever seen 30 round clips. Where are they getting 90 round clips?

Quoted: What's a few dead innocent civilians to the nazi-fuck pro-marxist lobby ?

We all know our government has a "holier than thou" syndrome..

100 AR's for $82,000?

$820 each?

Group Buy?

3 Gs for an AR?  

The inner city violence seems to stem from a small segment of the population, with a third world mentality,often members of a permanent underclass which is supported by government assistance.

When all else fails, blame the inanimate object.

6lbs, what the Hell AR is he using?

What is a few dead patriots to the cause of freedom?

See, both anti-gunners and arfcommers have the same incredibly exaggerated opinion of the 223, the world's most over-rated groundhog killer.

(I acknowledge that it is very accurate and makes for a pretty good SMG round.  I also acknowledge that the excellent selection of bullets really helps out. So STFU.)

Quoted: 6lbs, what the Hell AR is he using?

No kidding, he needs to drag that thing through the EE

Uneducated, ignorant moron.

Freedom is a frightful idea to a coward.

Cops on here: have you ever felt outgunned in a confronation?  "OMG the police are outgunned by criminals!!!!!1!!" is, in fact, a meaningless propaganda phrase, correct?

So WTF is he talking about?  More gun laws?  The actions he described about the gangbangers and such are already against the law.  What in the world is another law going to do?

Quoted: So WTF is he talking about?  More gun laws?  The actions he described about the gangbangers and such are already against the law.  What in the world is another law going to do?

I think he's saying that dealers are ignoring the current laws and wild animal gang bangers are still getting the guns, so he's probably suggesting that no civilians should have access to such a dangerous weapon.