Not at all. Perhaps I should elaborate on my logic:
I have had a concealed carry license for many years. When one has that license and that handgun on their person, there is an enormous responsibility to be a little smarter, a little more patient, a little less quick to anger and to express good judgement around the police.
Every interaction with law enforcement carries risk. It's one of the reasons I've been a vocal opponent of frivolous laws on the books. Look no further than 2014's death of Eric Garner over a "loosey" cigarette. Every interaction with law enforcement carries risk and that risk automatically increases when you are legally armed.
This man took an extremely high risk action by inserting himself into a legal law enforcement action that didn't concern him. This is poor judgement when unarmed but extraordinarily poor judgement when armed. Doubly so when these legal law enforcement actions are surrounded by a cacophony of screaming & whistles & abuse, to say nothing of the pressure cooker that Minnesota & Minneapolis politicians have created with their rhetoric and radicalization of a portion of the citizenry.
Short of the entire crowd singing NWA's "Fuck the Police" at the top of their lungs, every ingredient was present for a law enforcement officer to get twitchy.
Conversely:
Though it was a poor decision by everyone who entered the capital building that day, Ashli Babbit was not armed. And her presence was directly facilitated by both the capitol police and those who commanded them. Ashli was not interfering with a law enforcement action and appeared to be picked almost at random for targeting. Perhaps most importantly, there was no reason for the officer to believe she was a threat to his person. That is not the case with Alex Pretti.
To be very clear, I am not a "Thin Blue Liner", it's an area of disagreement between myself and the President. But this situation is a pressure cooker and Pretti knowingly inserted himself directly into that pressure and increased it.
Not at all. Perhaps I should elaborate on my logic:
I have had a concealed carry license for many years. When one has that license and that handgun on their person, there is an enormous responsibility to be a little smarter, a little more patient, a little less quick to anger and to express good judgement around the police.
Every interaction with law enforcement carries risk. It's one of the reasons I've been a vocal opponent of frivolous laws on the books. Look no further than 2014's death of Eric Garner over a "loosey" cigarette. Every interaction with law enforcement carries risk and that risk automatically increases when you are legally armed.
This man took an extremely high risk action by inserting himself into a legal law enforcement action that didn't concern him. This is poor judgement when unarmed but extraordinarily poor judgement when armed. Doubly so when these legal law enforcement actions are surrounded by a cacophony of screaming & whistles & abuse, to say nothing of the pressure cooker that Minnesota & Minneapolis politicians have created with their rhetoric and radicalization of a portion of the citizenry.
Short of the entire crowd singing NWA's "Fuck the Police" at the top of their lungs, every ingredient was present for a law enforcement officer to get twitchy.
Conversely:
Though it was a poor decision by everyone who entered the capital building that day, Ashli Babbit was not armed. And her presence was directly facilitated by both the capitol police and those who commanded them. Ashli was not interfering with a law enforcement action and appeared to be picked almost at random for targeting. Perhaps most importantly, there was no reason for the officer to believe she was a threat to his person. That is not the case with Alex Pretti.
To be very clear, I am not a "Thin Blue Liner", it's an area of disagreement between myself and the President. But this situation is a pressure cooker and Pretti knowingly inserted himself directly into that pressure and increased it.