CA - Why you won't find off-duty cops at the fair

[FWiedner]

Why you won't find off-duty cops at the fair
 
By: JIM DUFFY

The San Diego County Fair represents a time when friends and families, residents and visitors can come together and celebrate the many things that we love about our county. It is a place where people from all walks of life come together and celebrate the character, depth and prosperity of our community. The rides, food and fun at the fair give all San Diegans the unique opportunity to enjoy quality family time.

For our public safety officers, it is also a time where our families can enjoy the safe haven we have helped build. Unfortunately, the law enforcement community has been put into a situation where it is no longer safe for us to include our families in this time-honored tradition.

In spite of state and federal laws that give law enforcement officers the discretion to carry a firearm off duty, the San Diego County Fair board is has now prohibiting officers from visiting the fair if they are carrying a concealed firearm when not on duty. This presents a number of potentially dangerous scenarios for our officers and their families; so much so that the law enforcement community has decided to boycott the San Diego County Fair.

I don't know how you can ask the people who have accepted a sworn oath to serve and protect our families and our communities seven days a week, 24 hours a day, to put their spouses and children in a situation that could bring a great deal of harm and fear into their lives. If an officer arrests a member of a street gang and then three hours later is at the fair with his wife and two kids and is encountered by other members of that very same street gang, shouldn't he be able to employ the necessary protective measures needed to ensure that his family will not be the target of any retribution attempts by that street gang? Is it possible that we would accept anything less for our own family members if we were in that exact situation?

We trust our law enforcement officers to exercise sound judgment every day in volatile situations. Why should that trust end when the clock strikes a certain hour?

The human cost and extraordinary heroism of these officers' work surrounds us. It surrounds our cities and towns, our schools and our parks. We have the luxury of living in a safe community because of the strength and courage of these brave men and women. For us to not do all that we can to protect those who protect us is a travesty of unconscionable proportions.

I am hopeful that this community that we know and love will support the men and women whom you trust every day with the safety of your homes, your schools and your families. The law enforcement community is calling on the San Diego County Fair board to revise its policy regarding concealed firearms for peace officers so that all San Diegans can enjoy the food, fun and quality family time at the San Diego County Fair.

Jim Duffy is a 24-year veteran of law enforcement and is president of the Deputy Sheriffs' Association of San Diego County.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/06/19/opinion/commentary/20_51_526_18_05.txt

*FW Note:

It's so sad when the other shoe hits the floor.  These poor public-safety officers want to deny average citizens the right to even own guns in CA, but whine and mewl like little girls when the rules they favor go too far and apply to them as well.

Ah, the hypocrisy of authority...

"Do as I say, not as I do."

 

[DWARREN123]

Why just off duty LEO's, it should be okay for everyone who can own a firearm to carry any place. Not just officers have situations like this.

[Leverdude]

Why just off duty LEO's, it should be okay for everyone who can own a firearm to carry any place. Not just officers have situations like this.

My thoughts exactly!

What if I witness a street gang crime & call the cops on them & 3 hours later his gang mates accost me & my family? Hipocracy is too light a word for this attitude, elitism fits much better.

[unspellable]

I'm inclined to say that side arms should be barred on certain carnival rides where the G forces involved are likely to cause them to part company with their owners.

As for barring off duty LEO's vs civilians, you have to remember that the line cops are not the anti-gunners, it's the politicians in the corner offices at headquarters.

[FWiedner]

...the line cops are not the anti-gunners, it's the politicians in the corner offices at headquarters.

Isn't this the same as saying that the bad Nazis weren't the ones who were killing allied soldiers or melting down Jewish prisoners for body fat to make soap, but the ones who were back in Berlin having champagne with breakfast and making propaganda films...?

 :?

[unspellable]

FWiedner,

Guess you have a point.  That's one of the reasons I never wanted to be a cop.

[alsatian]

unspellable:

FWeidner, I think, is making reference to earlier testimonies from California LEOs who advocated more gun control laws, for example banning .50 cal BMG.  The point is, why should a LEO have any greater rights than all of us to protect ourselves from violent criminals?  We are all subject to violent attacks, these attacks are typically timed to occur when the LEO is not present (I don't know about you, but I don't typically drive over the speed limit when the LEO is visible but when he is not present!!!), and life or death may depend upon being armed at the moment of attack -- not being dependent on calling a LEO and waiting for them to arrive on the scene.

I'm not disparaging LEOs or their response time.  Again, the criminals don't attack where and when the LEO is able to be on the scene in 30 seconds.  I do agree that LEOs make a mistake when they advocate gun laws as a means to take guns out of the hands of criminals.  Doesn't the very term "criminal" imply that the gun law is not going to be obeyed by the criminal?