Saturday, May 19, 2007

Wow. Who To Root For...

Anti-gun New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) is at it again. A recent New York Post article detailed how, at a breakfast sponsored by Ladies Home Journal, he took a swipe at the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) for its support of the Tiahrt Amendment, which prohibits the disclosure of confidential firearm trace data except in the course of a bona fide criminal investigation. "It is one fringe organization," charged Bloomberg.

"I would say resident within the Fraternal Order of Police is far more expertise with the administration of justice than Mayor Bloomberg’s limited experience in that area," shot back James Pasco, the group’s executive director."

The LAST people I want administering justice are the police. The job of law enforcement is, surprisingly enough, to enforce the law, and has absolutely nothing to do with justice. The police are peace keepers, the courts administer, and anti-gun mayors strive for a utopia wherein everyone is disarmed.

The cops don't want trace data made available for the obvious reasons. Where THEY live should be a secret. THEIR mishaps should be kept under wrap. Here's the mission statement of the FOP:

To support and defend the Constitution of the United States; to inculcate loyalty and allegiance to the United States of America; to promote and foster the enforcement of law and order; to improve the individual and collective proficiency of our members in the performance of their duties; to encourage fraternal, educational, charitable and social activities among law enforcement officers; to advocate and strive for uniform application of the civil service merit system for appointment and promotion; to support the improvement of the standard of living and working conditions of the law enforcement profession through every legal and ethical means available; to create and maintain tradition of esprit de corps insuring fidelity to duty under all conditions and circumstances; to cultivate a spirit of fraternalism and mutual helpfulness among our members and the people we serve; to increase the efficiency of the law enforcement profession and thus more firmly to establish the confidence of the public in the service dedicated to the protection of life and property.

374,000 members nationwide. One out of every dozen police officers is a card-carrier. Since they have no problem disregarding the very first line of their credo means it's nothing more than a union organization. And that's cool. Folks should be allowed to join whatever institution strikes their fancy. Just don't go all high-hat and try to make it something it is obviously not.

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