From the Star-Ledger


[b]Edward Brannigan, president of the New Jersey Fraternal Order of Police, said yesterday that funding for the bulletproof vests is essential to save lives. But he added Congress should not sidestep the assault weapons issue.

"Assault weapons kill police officers," he said. "I hope they think it over and renew the ban." [/b]

You gotta love the fact that a civil service labor union thinks it has a right to dictate legislation.  I'd like to see the FOP keep their weapons locked up at the station and take their chances like the rest of us who can't carry.

Gee I gues no other weapon in the world kill cops but AWs

Really Ed?  How many?

Maybe 10 rounds mags would keep cops alive, whereas the current 15 round mags kill cops.

Asswipe.

Can someone post a link?  Before sending my 2 cents to the FOP I searched the Star- Leger Online & couldn't find anything about this article.....

Thanks.

From another thread but I am quite sure he would agree.

Yeah, officers the ball is in your court on this one. I'd send a letter, but I don't think they'd care what I'd (a civie) have to say.

Of course they would!  Who do you think donates to them?

Still waiting for story confirmation.  I searched but can't find it.

eh?

[url]http://www.njo.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-8/1053067104302100.xml?starledger?ntop [/url]
Friday, May 16, 2003
BY ROBERT COHEN
STAR-LEDGER WASHINGTON BUREAU
WASHINGTON -- As House Republican leaders maneuvered yesterday to end a federal ban on assault weapons, other lawmakers were pushing a proposal to help local police agencies buy bulletproof vests.
Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-2nd Dist.) is one of the leaders of the effort to win more funding for the protective clothing. An opponent of the assault weapons ban, he also wrote the soon-to-expire law that has provided police around the country with $125 million since 1998 to buy bulletproof vests. Surrounded by several dozen policemen who came to Washington yesterday to memorialize their brethren killed in the line of duty, LoBiondo said, "I strongly believe that when police officers are issued a badge and a gun, they should also be issued a protective vest."
LoBiondo made his comments as House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) fended off questions about whether he would allow a vote on the politically volatile issue of whether to renew the assault weapons ban that will expire in 2004.
"That bill has not been discussed by the leadership yet, and I have not had a discussion with the president yet. I am not ready to make that decision," said Hastert.
Rob Wilcox, a spokesman for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said yesterday that it was "ironic that we will provide funding to protect policemen while increasing the risk of their coming face-to-face with extremely powerful assault weapons."
LoBiondo, who voted in 1996 to repeal the assault weapons ban and has backed other National Rifle Association efforts, said the money for bulletproof vests is unrelated to the assault weapons issue.
"That situation (assault weapons) is still unfolding," said LoBiondo. "I haven't focused on it. I will deal with it when it comes up. This is not the issue we are here to deal with today."
Edward Brannigan, president of the New Jersey Fraternal Order of Police, said yesterday that funding for the bulletproof vests is essential to save lives. But he added Congress should not sidestep the assault weapons issue.
"Assault weapons kill police officers," he said. "I hope they think it over and renew the ban."
A recent study by the Violence Policy Center, a Washington-based group that supports an extension of the assault weapons ban, found that 41 of the 211 police officers killed between January 1, 1998, and Dec. 31, 2001, were victims of assault weapons.
Earlier this week, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) said "the votes in the House aren't there" to continue the assault weapons ban. His spokesman later said the House Republican majority has no intention of allowing for a vote.
The comments were criticized by a number of Democrats and gun control advocates, and questioned by Bush, who promised to back the ban's extension. The death of the assault weapons law has been a top priority of the NRA, which has been upset about the president's support for extending the law.
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer this week refused to say whether Bush would lobby Capitol Hill for an extension of the ban. Bush yesterday paid tribute to fallen law enforcement officers and their "character and courage," but he made no mention of assault weapons.
The 1994 assault weapons law, approved during the Clinton administration, outlaws the manufacture, sale or possession of 19 specific semi-automatic military-style guns like the Uzi and the AK-47. It also prohibits large capacity ammunition clips.
New Jersey also has its own state law banning similar assault weapons.
Despite the ban, gun control groups say assault weapons have proliferated because manufacturers have produced automatic weapons not specifically covered by the law. This includes the Bushmaster rifle used in the Washington, D.C., area sniper shootings.
Some gun control advocates including Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.) have proposed expanding the guns banned under the law while others, including Sen. Dainne Feinstein (D-Calif.), have said they would seek the extension of the law given the political realities.
But the goal of renewing the law may be out of reach.
John Feehrey, Hastert's spokesman, said the House speaker was not necessarily contradicting DeLay by saying the issue is still under discussion.
"What DeLay said is accurate," said Feehrey. "There probably are not enough votes in the House Judiciary Committee to move a bill to the floor, and there are probably not enough votes in the chamber to win passage of the assault weapons extension."

Thanks Atencio!

I am glad that NJFOP has the foresight to support our president's campaign promise of common sense and reasonable gun control legislation. The cop bashing civilians are probably just like the terrorists and dance in the streets everytime a police officer is killed.

These were also the cops that said that hollow point bullets were "cop killers" designed to go through bullet proof vests. [rolleyes]

Hey Imbroglio,
You might want to take into consideration the following facts:
1)NJ State Police are under a consent decree to terminate racial profiling of minority motorists.
2) A New Jersey Police Officer was the second recorded violation(by a police officer) of the 1934 NFA when he went off the deep end and killed several individuals with whom he had issues with his dept issue MP 5.
NJ Police might not be the best sources for you to quote.[;)]

This quote has a life of it's own.  It will take a direct hit from a wooden stake to kill it.  

"A recent study by the Violence Policy Center, a Washington-based group that supports an extension of the assault weapons ban, found that 41 of the 211 police officers killed between January 1, 1998, and Dec. 31, 2001, were victims of assault weapons. "

They want you to pay for the whole report.  I'm suspicious that the they only linked to 15 incidents.
1. SKS
2, Armalite M15A2
3. SKS
4. AR-15
5. Ruger Mini 14 (No mention of folder)
6 MAK-90 or SA 85
7. Tec-9
8. MAK-90 or SA-85
9 MAADI 7.62
10. Mini-14 (No mention of folder)
11. SKS
12 MAK-90
13. AK-47
14 M1 Carbine (No mention of folder)
15. M-11 Assault Pistol

I believe this is an outright lie by the VPC,can anyone help disprove this statement?

You ought to post this over in the cop forum.... oh, wait, that might be a troll.

Keep in mind, the president of fop is elected, and as such represents the views of his membership, (beat cops).....

That would be incorrect.  The FOP only represents police on pay and collective bargaining issues.  Any other statements made by the leadership comes straight from the AFL-CIO party line, and the membership is not consulted.

BTW:  FOP is really only a noticeable presence along the East coast and North.  I've never even seen an FOP rep in Texas.

well i think cops should be disarmed if we are disarmed. New Jersey is a fucked up state.If they don't want guns there then get rid of them ALL!!!Sell them to me.
     [BS]

New Jersey... that's the state where the NJ State Police still dress in the Nazi uniforms, isn't it?

(The above is a deliberate insult to the NJ State Police.  I'll quit alluding to their Nazi appearance as soon as they get a new uniform.)

I see, thanks. Am I correct that they are elected by the membership, just as the AFL-CIO leadership is??



Do you guys have a police union there? Or are you part of a public employees union?? Are you part of any national organization as a job requirement?? Thanks..

(no, I'm not particularly looking for a chance to jump ya![:D])

The guys that run the NJ FOP are a bunch of polititions. They retire into jobs in one law firm, who holds the legal defense fund for the union. They care not about the rank and file officer, of which there are several on this board.

I lead a group of local FOP that stopped them from endorsing gun laws during a state meeting. Since I would never give into their games,
They supported my boss against several of us trying to ruin our lives and careers.

We all prevailed and he was found guilty in Federal Court of violating our rights. You have to understand that if your department is FOP, you have to join. The other choice is the PBA, whose president was just indited for embezzelment of union funds.

REmember that the cop on the street and those on top are often very different.

Last...the President of the state FOP is only elected in name, there is usually only one running for the position

The election question has already been answered,  so i'll go with the representation question.

We don't have unions, we have associations.  Membership is not mandatory,  but a very good idea.

Police in Texas Have TMPA, (Texas Municipal Police Association) and CLEAT.  (Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas)

CLEAT is affiliated with the AFL-CIO.  You'll pretty much get the Democratic party line. It would not surprise me in the least if a CLEAT rep came out for renewal of the AWB.

TMPA was founded by officers for officers.  A LOT more on the conservative side,  and a rapidly growing organization. Labor or legal help is a lot better thru TMPA in my experience. Dues are cheaper too, and if they say, endorse a candidate,  it'll be because they talked to the rank and file.

I have had several experiences with CLEAT reps,  I really don't like them. Reminds me of everything bad I have ever heard about unions.

I sense that someone posting in this thread now regrets his abandonment of the PBA in favor of the FOP.  [;)]

Hehehehe...  Even from behind bars, Ginesi would be proud. [:D]

The FOP, and the other unions or associations in police work can be counted on to be ANTI-GUN since they are all DEmocraps.  They do not speak for the rank and file guys.  The heads of these organizations are misrepresenting their members. Doing a disservice to their communities, and to the people they are supposec to serve.  They lick at the boots of the democratic party to curry favor so they may live like kings at the expense of the people.

They in short endorse crime and corruption, as they are corrupt.

I saw that!!!!  :)

[:D]