Should an absolute, end-of-the-world-type disaster occur or should the government simply try to outlaw firearms, many people are fearful that the local or federal law enforcement officers will start knocking on doors and taking away guns and ammunition. Frankly, I don’t believe that’s going to happen, but that doesn’t make the fear of it any less real or warranted to others.
In recent times a growing tide of fear and skepticism has come about regarding the federal government (and, in some cases, the local government) taking away more rights—inalienable and natural rights necessary to preserve life and liberty. No doubt, those rights have been slowly trampled upon in my lifetime.
As a police officer and a citizen, I don’t like big government making rules that encroach upon my rights of self defense and liberty. I’m first a citizen and secondly a cop. My job may reflect what I do for a living, but it doesn’t mean my identity as a US citizen is taken away from me.
Besides that, I’ve served our country in the military and I serve now in a law enforcement capacity. To me, that service means preserving the rights of the people. I even took an oath, both as a soldier and as a cop, to defend those rights and to uphold the US Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. I will continue to defend the rights of all people until my last breath, whether I’m a cop or not. I take that oath very seriously.
In order to be free, we need wise laws that preserve the safety of all people. In other words, if someone is going to murder, I’m going to stop them. Yes, I’ll take away their gun and, if circumstances allow it, I’ll shoot them dead, too. If my life is threatened or another person’s life is threatened, I’m going to take action to preserve life even if that means, paradoxically, taking a life to save one.
As a cop, I understand that there are many citizens who think the same way I do about protecting their lives and the lives of their family members. I want them to protect themselves. Why? Because every person has that right. And because, as the saying goes, when seconds matter, cops are minutes away.
Emergency declaration
I happen to be a police officer in the great state of Utah. Following Hurricane Katrina, Utah saw chaos like many places across the country with the exodus of many displaced individuals from the Gulf region. Unfortunately, this took the form of some knuckleheaded decisions by dangerous criminals as well as government officials.
In response, Utah made a law that police officers cannot take away anyone’s guns during an emergency if they’re in legal possession of those guns (i.e. they can’t be felons). This means cops don’t have to follow any big government rules to confiscate guns in a declared state of emergency. Police will not get into trouble for not following such orders.
But also, I don’t foresee most police forces taking away guns during a state of major emergency, even if there is no specific law in place forbidding this. You have the right to bear arms and no one should be taking those from you. That’s the way every one of my brothers and sisters in law enforcement think, too. I’ve never met any cop who thinks otherwise.
Government takeover
If the government started outlawing the AR family of rifles, for instance, I don’t believe police would come to homes and confiscate them.
I don’t think the government will outlaw ARs or firearms in general, but should it occur, the police won’t come take your guns. Talking simple logistics here, there just aren’t even enough police or police resources to do that.
Citizens outnumber police in a big way and because of that it would be impossible for the federal government or local governments to come collect guns. And, having worked for the feds, I know how they work–and there’s no way they’d be able to successfully organize an effort to collect everyone’s guns. No way!
Sure, some police departments pay citizens to bring in guns so they can destroy them. Frankly, I think that’s a punch in the gut to those of us who love the Second Amendment and enjoy our firearms, but that’s just me. Even then, I don’t think it would matter much.
Remember, police are people, too. Police officers are your neighbors. Police are usually very conservative individuals and many of us are military veterans. Police officers are willing to die for the rights of freedom against anarchy. Despite what some people may think, all the police officers I know and have worked with are staunch supporters of the Second Amendment and big-time defenders of the US Constitution. If police officers found out the government was going to start banning guns, cops like myself would be right in line with the rest of the gun-lovers in America. We’d hate it and would do all we could to stop it.
Shoot, one officer told me recently he’d bury his guns out in his backyard if he had to, just to keep them. That does not make him a rogue cop; it just means he’s like the rest of the freedom-loving Americans… and maybe even loves his guns a bit more than most. He also said, he’d never take away guns from citizens, even if the government demanded it.
I’ve had police officer friends of mine from Arizona, California, Texas, Illinois, Florida, Utah and Pennsylvania tell me the same thing. Cops aren’t going to confiscate your guns. In our private conversations they’ve told me they’d quit being a cop before they took away someone’s rights to own guns. I couldn’t agree with them more. I’d do the same thing.
The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of Guns.com.
Safety warning: Jeffrey Denning is a long time professional in the art of self-defense and any training methods or information he describes in his articles are intended to be put into practice only by serious shooters with proper training. Please read, but do not attempt anything posted here without first seeking out proper training.
