Brady: 'Police Violence is Gun Violence' (But Let's Exempt Police From Gun Control Laws)

AP Photo/John Minchillo

If it weren't for double standards, the gun control lobby would have no standards at all. Take, for instance, Brady's tweet on the death of Michael Brown, who was shot and killed by Ferguson, Missouri police officer Darren Wilson. Though local, state, and federal authorities concluded that Wilson was justified in shooting Brown after the 18-year-old assaulted him, the gun control group declared his death an act of "gun violence". 

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Now, you'd think that a gun control group calling for "systemic change" in policing would demand that police are subjected to the same anti-gun laws organizations like Brady want to foist on responsible gun owners, right? 

But Brady, like virtually every other gun control outfit, never complains when police are exempt from gun control laws. 

Why hasn't Brown objected to the fact that law enforcement is exempt from the 72-hour waiting period that took effect today in the state of Maine? Why hasn't she complained that Massachusetts lawmakers declared that police are not subjected to the state's expanded ban on "assault weapons"? That would most certainly be a systemic change, but the gun control lobby and the politicians they support have made a point of carving out law enforcement from their anti-2A restrictions. 

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In fact, when police chiefs in Massachusetts complained that they were going to be subjected to many of the same restrictions on the right to carry as ordinary citizens, Senate Democrats were quick to offer their own bill that enabled police to enforce the law against others but left law enforcement untouched by its provisions. And when a conference committee came up with a "compromise" bill that quickly passed both chambers, police ended up subjected to several unfunded mandates in terms of enforcement, but got the carve-out they were looking for when it comes to purchasing and possessing "assault weapons", along with carrying firearms into "sensitive places". 

What did Kris Brown have to say when Gov. Maura Healey signed H. 4885 into law? She certainly wasn't complaining that the bill would do nothing to stop "gun violence" perpetrated by police. 

"Brady applauds the leadership of Governor Healer, who has just taken a giant step in furtherance of public safety by signing H4885 in Massachusetts. With the signing of this bill, Massachusetts continues to lead in modern solutions that will address the many types of gun violence that plague the state and the country. “An Act Modernizing Firearm Laws” includes some of the strongest measures we have to address this epidemic, including common-sense provisions like prohibiting the carrying of firearms in polling places and prohibiting the sale of unserialized, untraceable ghost guns. And it allows policy makers to build on this progress by creating data centers for use in further firearms policy research. Brady thanks Governor Healey, Representative Day, Senator Creem, and every legislator and advocate who supported this critical bill, which will keep Massachusetts communities safe."

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Brown wasn't the only anti-gun activist praising the bill, even though it broadly exempts police from its restrictions. Gabby Giffords called the bill a "life-saving law", while Stop Handgun Violence's John Rosenthal declared the bill to be a  "model for the Nation." 

Healey's signing ceremony would have been the perfect opportunity for Brown to chide lawmakers for doing nothing to stop "gun violence" committed by police, but she and other gun control activists didn't sound a single note of complaint. Whatever "systemic change" she's calling for clearly doesn't include more gun control for law enforcement agencies... just more infringements on the rest of us.  

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