from the mouths of cops

One of the favorite tactics employed by the hoplophobes, anti-rights activists, and gun-grabbers of America is to trot forward the supposed opinions and stances of police chiefs around the country on how “gun control” is “necessary”, banning firearms is “necessary”, and otherwise abridging and infringing on Constitutionally-protected rights is “necessary” (see the latest load of tripe-loaf from the Commercial Appeal for an example). Of course, more often than not, those police chiefs are not named or identified, and direct quotes are not used… kind of says something about the veracity of their sources, eh?
On the other hand, Better Half happened to stumble across this column by a police sergeant in some small town here in Tennessee… you know, the kind of guy who actually goes out and deals with criminals and citizens on a daily basis, rather than a paper-pusher who probably has not been in a squad car for years. You will want to read the whole thing, especially given the rather random list of weapons he has confiscated off criminals over his years, but the ending few paragraphs of his article are quoted below:

There are many out there who advocate making guns illegal in this country because they believe it would lessen violent crime. Speaking as a police veteran of more than 25 years, such beliefs are misguided.

Keep in mind I am speaking with some degree of experience and education on this matter … having been both shot and shot at in the line of duty. None of the guns that were fired at me did so on their own — they had human operators in control of these inanimate objects.

Pens and pencils don’t make you misspell words; cars don’t make you drive drunk, run red lights or speed; and, no, not even a “morning star” can swing itself.

The logic behind banning firearms in order to lower crime is as ridiculous to me as banning cars because so many people are injured and killed every year in accidents and drunken driving crimes. It is not the car that is at fault; it’s the driver who is at fault. And, by the same token, it isn’t the gun … It is the criminal who commits the crime and it is the criminals who need to be addressed and dealt with, not any device they use in the commission of their crimes.

As our government steadily changes more and more to the Left, gun control and outright gun ban issues will become very hot topics. So, I think it’s imperative Americans use some common sense in this area and realize gun control is in no shape, form or fashion crime control.

If someone commits a crime with a gun, follow the law and punish the person, but leave the Second Amendment alone, it is in the Constitution for a reason.

(Emphasis added.)
So here we have a police officer who has been protecting and defending for 25 years, he has been shot and shot at… and he still thinks that “gun control” is a load of misguided hogwash.
Somehow, I am not surprised, probably because most police officers do not support stronger gun control than what we already have.
I cannot add much else to Sergeant Coffey’s column… read the whole thing, though, and the “morning star” comment will make more sense than it does in the above blockquote.