Newsgroups: alt.law-enforcement,talk.politics.guns Path: tribune.usask.ca!decwrl!decwrl!concert!news-feed-1.peachnet.edu!emory!rsiatl!jgd From: jgd@dixie.com (John De Armond) Subject: Re: New US gun control bill Message-ID: <wm4xcsh@dixie.com> Date: Wed, 21 Jul 93 09:56:50 GMT Organization: Dixie Communications Public Access. The Mouth of the South. Keywords: gun control US References: <nagleCADE8I.F7C@netcom.com> <22habl$hsp@transfer.stratus.com> Lines: 53 cdt@sw.stratus.com (C. D. Tavares) writes: >> So what's the law enforcement position? >The American Federation of Police: >"There are many Americans who fear for their lives. They >know that often they will have to protect themselves, their own >families and their own property. Should these people be disarmed? >There are enough laws. No, we don't need to disarm our loyal >citizens, our friends and our neighbors. We just need judges >with the guts to make the use of a gun in a crime a risk that few >will undertake in the future." [etc] And a very recent poll of Georgia police officers conducted a couple of weeks ago: ---------------- 07/12/93 Marietta Daily Journal Marietta, GA POLICE SURVEY SHOWS MOST OPPOSE STRICT GUN CONTROL MORROW (AP)--A new survey of police officers shows most believe strict gun-control measures will not decrease violent crime. The poll of 3,825 members of the Southern States Police Benevolent Association found 95.8 percent rejected an outright ban on all firearms and 96.4 percent strongly support firearms ownership for self-protection. About 86 percent said waiting periods to purchase guns would affect only law-abiding citizens, and 63.8 percent preferred an instant background check. The officers ranked drugs, the decline of family values and the combination of light prison sentences and early release programs as the top three reasons for the nation's upsurge in violent crime. The poll, conducted by Spectrum Resources Inc. of Tallahassee, Fla. has a less than 1 percent margin of error. "We simply had enough of every special interest group ... claiming they spoke for rank-and-file officers on the subject of gun control," Association president Jack Roberts said Friday. -- John De Armond, WD4OQC | (Pardon the inconvenience while we Performance Engineering Magazine(TM) | remodel this .signature) Marietta, Ga | jgd@dixie.com | Path: access.usask.ca!csd.unb.ca!sis!galileo.cc.rochester.edu!wupost!looking!clarinews From: clarinews@clarinet.com (STEVE GLASSER) Newsgroups: clari.news.law.police,clari.news.issues,clari.local.georgia,clari.news.trends Subject: Southern police survey shows little gun control support Keywords: police, legal, gun control, social issues, domestic trends, trends Message-ID: <guncontrolU3l9130pe@clarinet.com> References: <ga-guncontrolU3l9115pe@clarinet.com> X-Supersedes: <ga-guncontrolU3l9115pe@clarinet.com> Date: Fri, 9 Jul 93 10:39:32 PDT Location: georgia ACategory: usa Slugword: guncontrol Priority: regular Format: regular ANPA: Wc: 367/359; Id: z4152; Sel: xxnlp; Adate: 7-9-130ped; Ver: 0/1 Approved: clarinews@clarinet.com Codes: &nlprxx., &nxgrga., &ntdrxx., tnrb.... Lines: 34 Xref: access.usask.ca clari.news.law.police:1456 clari.news.issues:2346 clari.local.georgia:1157 clari.news.trends:971 ATLANTA (UPI) -- Nearly all members of the Southern States Police Benevolant Association reject the argument that restrictive gun control measures effectively combat violent crime, according to a survey released Friday. The survey showed that 95.8 percent of the 10,614 members of the 10- state law enforcement organization surveyed rejected a ban on all firearms, 96.4 percent strongly supported firearm ownership for self- protection and 90.1 percent agreed that the U.S. Constitution guarantees law-abiding citizens the right to own a firearm. Only 34.7 percent said stricter gun control laws were an effective way of controlling violent crime. ``We simply had enough of every special interest group, including a number of national police organizations, claiming they spoke for rank- and-file officers on the subject of gun control,'' said Southern States PBA President Jack Roberts, a former police officer. ``The only way to know how law enforcement feels about gun control is to ask them. And that's exactly what we did,'' he said. ``What our members told us may be quite an eye-opener for some people, but it won't be to anyone who is in touch with rank-and-file street cops.'' The survey showed little support for a Brady Bill-type waiting period for the purchase of handguns -- 86.5 percent said it would only affect law-abiding citizens and not deter criminals from obtaining handguns. An instant point-of-purchase criminal background check prior to the purchase of handguns drew 63.8 percent support, while only 23.1 percent supported a waiting period before the purchase of a handgun. When asked what was most responsible for the surge in violent crime across the nation, 45 percent said drugs, 10.6 percent said the decline of family values and 10.2 percent blamed the lack of punishment coupled with early release programs. Congress drew low marks for its effectiveness in dealing with violent crime - 93 percent of those surveyed said federal lawmakers were minimally to totally ineffective. The survey was conducted by Spectrum Resources Inc., of Tallahassee, Fla.