Posts at the Smallest Minority, Rivrdog and Gut Rumbles bring to mind some of the Posse's thoughts on guns, cops and the ever-present fear (in some quarters) of a police state.
The most important statement in this entire episode comes from Gut Rumbles:
Don't EVER do that. I don't care if you are TOTALLY in the right at the time. Argue with a cop, and you're asking to go to jail. Take whatever [edited] they dish out, take it like a man, keep your [edited] mouth shut and fight it in court later if you believe that you were wronged. You cannot win a lip-contest with a cop. Don't even try. [expletives removed by the Posse]
To many folks, this is grating. After all, police are there to serve and protect, right?
Well, yes. But they are human beings and they have power, just as you in some way often have power over others.
One of the recurring meme's the anti-gun activists like to use is that police are somehow superior to the rest of the citizenry. Their training or badges make them uniquely capable of using guns without going on psychopathic rampages.
Of course cops do commit crimes and they often use force improperly.
Most (but clearly not all) gun rights activists understand that cops are just people with a day job that involves carrying a gun.
They often have better than average skills that relate to that job, but otherwise are the same as everyone else.
We point this out because just as it is irrational to assume police are mythically endowed with the unique ability to use force flawlessly, it is also irrational to assume that they don't get angry, afraid or upset when law-abiding citizens give them crap.
When pulled over for a traffic stop, be polite.
It is worth it.
The Posse knows police officers and judges and all agree that the most important thing about being stopped is simply politeness.
Keep your hands on the wheel at all times, starting from the moment you pull over. Don't get out your license or registration until the cop approaches your window and asks you to do it. Speak only when spoken to. Be friendly and polite.
Some folks have a problem with this. They argue that police, in the role of public servants shouldn't deserve any kind of slack.
We have a words to describe these people: rude jerks.
Police officers are doing a job. Their job is to enforce the laws and traffic laws are a major part of it.
Happily, they have some discretion. If you are polite, often they will let you go with a warning.
The behavior listed above isn't about kow-towing before jack-booted thugs, it is about making the police officer understand that you are safe and law-abiding.
When a cop makes a traffic stop, he has no idea if you are a wanted killer about to trade up to a death sentence on his corpse. By remaining still, moving slowly and being calm, you reassure the officer that you aren't a threat.
Reassured and relaxed, the officer is often more than happy to cut you some slack.
It's that simple.
If you are carrying a gun legally, you have even more reason to be calm and courteous. The Posse would fully expect a police officer to ask to see our revolver and we would carefully and slowly hand it over.
It is the least we can do to make the police officer's job go smoothly and safely.
In some states it's required, but offering to do so is hardly a bad way to go.
We have spoken with many cops and the overriding motivation for them is simply to know if you are one of the "good guys."
They don't want to lock up "good guys," they want to find criminals. Once you show you are on their side, things get easier for everyone.
And yes, we have gotten out of a half-dozen tickets in this manner.
Now on to this part from Rivrdog:
This opinion puts us on a list. That list is maintained against the day when the leftists actually want to act out their fantasy of a totally-controlling government and a totally defenseless (unarmed) population. I am convinced that the list exists, if only in some unofficial form on a private computer or in a private notebook or two. It might exist, more boldly, in Federal Law Enforcement files. It does exist in field contact reports as they are coded and maintained by local police. I know, because I used to write these reports myself.
Get a grip.
One of the unlooked-for advantages of big government is that it loses track of itself. These "lists" are too big, disorganized and otherwise impractical to worry about.
Look, no gun registry has ever solved a crime. Canada has spent more than a billion on its and it still doesn't work right.
Is it possible that they can be used to confiscate guns? Sure. But they are more likely to waste huge sums of money simply trying to track all the data.
It is this type of paranoia that really scares people and convinces them that gun owners aren't normal.
Don't get us wrong: we think gun registries are stupid, an infringement of liberty and a waste of resources.
The way to win the argument against them is to hit on the waste of valuable resources aspect. That is what strikes home with most sensible people.
Your personal fear of black helicopters, government agents and midnight knocks at the door are not widespread.
So relax already.
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