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The problem is American gun culture and the probability that any call might turn into a violent one. Other countries don't have that problem so they can send u

The problem is American gun culture and the probability that any call might turn into a violent one. Other countries don't have that problem so they can send unarmed social workers with higher confidence, over a life time of calls, they're going to see retirement. In America that isn't the case and responders need a gun because everyone has guns and you need to have sustainable system for keeping order that ensures, over the long tail, peace keepers stay alive. This is probably an unpopular opinion in a time of police abuses but it's orthogonal, it just means our police need to be extremely well trained and disciplined because we built a society that is inherently more dangerous (and this costs a lot of money which we're now defunding).

umvi 6y ago
Would it help if murdering unarmed peace keepers or whatever had extreme punishment attached? Even criminals can be trained. Kill an unarmed peace keeper, your life is effectively over.
- karlakush 6y ago
  There is already extreme punishment for peace officers. It doesn't stop criminals from doing it, though.
- SamReidHughes 6y ago
  That would require a constitutional amendment, because right now that’s first degree murder, usually a capital crime, and making the punishment worse than that would violate the 8th amendment.
trfhuhg 6y ago
The protests and the surprising violence from the PDs have actually shown the value of 2A. If anything, I'd vote for disarming police, except maybe a few special units, because most of them are emotionally unstable and can't be trusted with guns or any sort of power. If you think about who the most cops are, they are just a bunch of dudes that would normally be some retail workers, but with a few months of training they are given the license to kill. Obviously, most of them can't handle this level of responsibility.

umvi 6y ago

Would it help if murdering unarmed peace keepers or whatever had extreme punishment attached? Even criminals can be trained. Kill an unarmed peace keeper, your life is effectively over.

karlakush 6y ago
There is already extreme punishment for peace officers. It doesn't stop criminals from doing it, though.
SamReidHughes 6y ago
That would require a constitutional amendment, because right now that’s first degree murder, usually a capital crime, and making the punishment worse than that would violate the 8th amendment.

trfhuhg 6y ago

The protests and the surprising violence from the PDs have actually shown the value of 2A. If anything, I'd vote for disarming police, except maybe a few special units, because most of them are emotionally unstable and can't be trusted with guns or any sort of power. If you think about who the most cops are, they are just a bunch of dudes that would normally be some retail workers, but with a few months of training they are given the license to kill. Obviously, most of them can't handle this level of responsibility.