February 18, 2004

Good cops

The NRA's leadership is disingenuous in its support of legislation to protect gun dealers from lawsuits. So says Chief William J. Bratton of the LAPD. So, he and 80 other police officials have begun an ad campaign to lobby the US Chamber of Lords Senate to vote down a bill which would do just that.

The campaign is supported by the Major Cities Chiefs Association, which represents the chiefs of police in the 50 largest cities.

"To give gun manufacturers and dealers immunity from lawsuits is crazy," Chief Bratton said in a telephone interview.

"If you give them immunity," he added, "what incentive do they have to make guns with safer designs, or what incentive do the handful of bad dealers have to follow the law when they sell guns?"

"This is not about doing away with guns, but about trying to ensure the safety of police officers and the American public," said Chief Bratton, who was police commissioner in New York City in the early 1990's when there was a sharp drop in homicides, as there was last year in Los Angeles under Chief Bratton.

If there was ever an organization whose leadership was worthy of being drowned, it's the NRA. "From my cold dead hands," indeed. Hey! Red Sea! Why did you miss that guy?

Posted by Linkmeister at February 18, 2004 11:18 AM
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