House Republicans Considering Bill Making Some Animals More Equal Than Others

George Orwell’s Animal Farm needs to be required reading in school. It’s not long, and it was a pretty common choice for book reports back in my day because it was pretty short, but it outlines the foibles of communism. It starts with a bit about “all animals are equal,” but later, “but some animals are more equal than others” later on.

Yet, a new bill the House GOP is considering would give special gun rights to police officers.

Now, I’m not anti-cop. They do important work, and while not all of them are good people, most of them ar,e with some being absolutely outstanding.

But they’re still American citizens and while I can understand them being bound by different rules while on duty, off duty, they also get special treatment when it comes to guns, both at the state and federal level.

Now, Republicans are upping the ante, and former police officer turned GOA’s Florida director, Luis Valdes, has a problem with that.

This week is National Police Week, a noble and somber time to reflect on the courage and sacrifice of so many peace officers. Tens of thousands will gather in the nation’s capital to commemorate the occasion, which will culminate with Peace Officers Memorial Day on May 15.

The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to move a slate of bills with law enforcement tie ins, one of which would further expand Second Amendment rights to carry concealed firearms to off-duty and retired police. While I would personally benefit from the legislation, I cannot support a bill that would create special privileges for some when they should in fact be afforded to all citizens.

The Second Amendment doesn’t say “the right of the duly sworn police to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” This right is afforded to “the people,” the general public.

Those who wear the badge or have in times past are undoubtedly part of “the people.” But our nation was founded on principles of equality, not classes, nobility or aristocracy. Our rights are unalienable, and legislation like this violates that basic principle.

All Americans deserve the full access and restoration of their rights, not just those who carry a piece of tin in their wallet. I know many in law enforcement feel the same way, but often they are silenced by their political overlords with the threat of career blacklisting.

This is, unfortunately, true.

The police chief can echo the prevailing sentiment of the city council, of course, but the rank-and-file officer is often stymied by policy. They’re not able to speak freely.

Valdes goes on to bring up the stupidity of these different rules.

For example, when my wife and I travel from Florida to New York to visit family, I can carry without fear of persecution. But my wife, my partner in life, is disarmed when we make that trip. What makes her a lesser person in the eyes of lawmakers? Why are her rights stripped away? Most will quickly respond without thinking through the deeper point:

“They have the training.”

“They know how to handle those weapons.”

“We should trust them more than the average person.”

Now, understand something here and now.

I’ve shot semi-formal matches against a field that included a lot of police officers. I beat all but one, and he was someone with a long history of shooting competitions. These weren’t overly technical courses of fire, either. It was just basically about shooting quickly and accurately, and I beat them.

And I’m nothing to write home about as a shooter, folks. At that time, I was, at best, at the upper end of average.

For all their training and trust, most of them were far beneath that level.

Granted, that’s not a massive sample size, but a lot of officers don’t shoot anymore than they absolutely have to. Many go through their entire careers and retire without ever discharing their weapon anywhere but the gun range, so many don’t bother spending a lot of time working on their skills with a firearm.

But they get to carry places I can’t. Valdes can carry in prohibition-loving New York, but his lovely wife cannot. Sure, if she’s by his side, she’s got some degree of protection, which is more than a lot of people have there, but she shouldn’t have to rely on a big, strong man to protect her.

The Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act gives special Second Amendment rights to police officers. I don’t begrudge them the ability to carry in all of these places, either. What I begrudge is that they’re considered a special class of citizen, even when off duty. I begrudge the idea that they’re animals who deserve to be more equal than others.

I don’t think they should be disarmed in a state like New York. I think that we all should have the right to be armed there.

In this country, we’re supposed to be equal before the law–all animals are equal–and right now, we’re not, because again, some animals are more equal than others.