# Why Support Unsafe Cops? (Gun Control)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-support-unsafe-cops-gun-control/134490>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [October 30, 2002, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-support-unsafe-cops-gun-control/134490 "2002-10-30T03:59:09Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Riboflavin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Riboflavin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riboflavin)\
**Post date:** [November 3, 2002, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-support-unsafe-cops-gun-control/134490/21 "2002-11-03T19:10:51Z")

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> [@](#):
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> \*Originally posted by sqweels \*  
> Or maybe you did know just what I was talking about.

No, because you didn’t make it clear and if I guessed at what you were saying but was wrong you’d start complaining that I was trying to put words into your mouth. It’s happened to me quite a bit in the past on these sorts of threads, and I’m not going to keep walking into rhetorical traps.

> [@](#):
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> A policemans’s badge is his _license_ to carry firearms, make arrests, etc. Cops are extensively trainined in the law and handling firearms etc., and go through thorough background checks and psychological screening before being certified by the government that they can be relied upon to use their guns in a manner that is legal and safe.

Which doesn’t explain why you would exempt a cop from safety laws. If they’re trained to use their guns in a legal and safe manner, wouldn’t they already be avoiding unsafe guns and storing their guns in a safe manner? If they’re already capable of being relied upon to be safe, then applying safety laws to them would cause no problems since it wouldn’t restrict them. Remember, we’re only talking about laws that restrict citizens purely in the name of safety here, and we’re not talking about on-duty cops, but just citizens with a particular day job.

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> When a cop is suspended he is told to “turn in your badge and your gun”, and presumably guns issued by the department are registered. \*\*

But any personal guns he owns are still there, and in states with restrictive firearms laws cops generally have an easier time buying guns for personal use. Even suspended, he can use dangerously made saturday night specials, store guns in a manner considered unsafe, and in many states still legally carry concealed.

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