Quote:
Originally Posted by Bring_Back_Shantz
I really don't like that arguement at all.
If a group of rowdies is inclined to beat up a cop and use his gun on him, I'd assume that the warden is going to get beat up either way.
Or if a poacher is inclined to shoot a warden, I doubt it matters is weather or not they have a gun.
The guys who would acutally use thier or the warden's guns against them, would do it no matter if the warden was armend or not, but you can bet that there will be a lot more people who will think twice about messing wth a warden if he is packing.
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Ya, I can see things going either way for sure. Like I said in my previous post, I have mixed feelings about it. In some cases it will definitely be an aid to wardens.
My buddy who used to be a warden had a couple other things he was concerned about with regards to wardens carrying firearms. For one, he argued that if you are going to use the threat of deadly force you have to be willing to use it. Not everybody wants to be put in that situation. And another issue he raised was that carrying firearms turns wardens into cops, and not all wardens want to be viewed that way. Some feel they can do their job better if they're not looked at as bascially being cops.
Still, his bottom line was that he'd prefer to carry a gun for his own personal safey, but he undestood why wardens who didn't because of various other concerns. Based on my discussions with him, I can see both sides too and that's why I have mixed feelings about it. I don't think it's a purely win situation ... there are some downsides. The bottom line though is that officer safety should come first and if the majority of wardens want to carry firearms then they should be able to.