Periodically, I call bingo at a small community made up of old farts like me. It's actually quite dangerous, I've barely escaped with my life a few times when I've made mistakes here and there. I try to stay on their good side. Last week, during the intermission of about 300 games, I got up and polled them informally on this question: Should a municipality give a retiring police officer in good standing his firearm as a keepsake? There was no debate. I just asked those who supported this donation to raise their hands, and then asked those who opposed this donation to raise their hands.
By a 17-1 margin, with one abstention, these bingo players supported the donation. Afterwards, they made a few points. They noted that retired police officers have stopped crimes in progress. They observed that retired police officers are better trained than most in the proper use of handguns. Finally, they argued that this is the least a municipality could do for someone who risks his life every time he puts on a uniform.
The one person who voted against this donation thinks he owns Hackett Park.
Last week, Bethlehem City Council had a similar vote. Instead of a donation, they were considering a resolution that would sell retiring police officer's handgun to him for a few hundred dollars. This resolution was much closer. It was a 5-1 vote, and could easily have been a 4-2 vote.
Hillary Kwiatek was the sole No vote. Her specious arguments against the sale were as follows.
First, she argued that more children are dying from firearms than any other cause. That's certainly true, but there no causal connection between those unfortunate deaths and retired police officers.
Her second argument is police officers have high suicide rates, and allowing them to keep firearms makes that possibility more likely. She failed to note whether suicide rates among retired police officers is high. Doctors and dentists have high suicide rates as well. Under her logic, they should have no access to drugs.
The reason this could have been a 4-2 vote is because Council member Kiera Wilhelm said the only reason she voted No is because otherwise, the gun would be sold to some third party. If the City just destroyed the weapon, she'd support a ban on sales.
Based on my bingo poll, I'd say that both Kwiatek and Wilhem are completely out if touch. What they also fail to realize is that their attitude insults the very people who keep them safe.
Kwiatek hates cops and anything cops want. If she learned that cops support fresh air, she'd immediately condemn fresh air. She is a very predictable stooge whose paralyzing wokeness is destroying her precious few remaining brain cells.
ReplyDeleteRetired police officers have arrested hundreds of criminals throughout their careers. One would think that would put them at higher risk of retaliatory violence than the average person. Why *wouldn't* we want them to have the weapon that has protected them for years and with which they are probably most adept?
ReplyDeleteWilhelm has seemed more logical and main stream , so I give her a pass on this one. Any one who knows Kwiatek, is not surprised by lunacy. She makes no sense.
ReplyDelete