I'm still trying to wrap my head around so many staunchly pro-gun folks on DU

[Flyboy_451]

255. You are certainly welcome to your opinions

But allow me to offer you a slightly different perspective. For the average street cop, our sidearm serves the primary purpose of a personal defensive tool. Exceptions to this are tactical or SWAT units executing dynamic operations and entries. Generally speaking, law enforcement is reactionary, meaning we react rather than act overtly.

As for not being allowed to carry while off duty, this is another situation that you may not have fully thought through. Most large departments require that you live in the city for which you work. This means that you stand a very good chance of coming into contact with people that you have had prior "professional engagements" with. Imagine that you are a cop, out with your family, and you just happen to run across someone that you have arrested, testified against and helped to convict. Would you really want to be disarmed by mandate, so that that person, who very likely holds a grudge, knows that you have no real means of defense?

In over 16 years of law enforcement work, I have been in that situation more than a few times. On one occasion, it resulted in a physical confrontation because they saw me before I saw them. Would you prefer that I would have had to defend myself, my wife and my daughter with nothing more than physical strength and harsh language? For those of us that put on a uniform every day, we are never off duty. There is always a very real chance of being in a situation that we must be able to defend not only ourselves, but our loved ones as well.

Just as a side note, even if such a mandate were passed, the rate of compliance would e very close to zero.

JW