D.C. Council Member David Grosso. (Photo: Flickr, H/T The Blaze)
During a D.C. Council hearing Tuesday on the use of controversial stop-and-frisk tactics in the District, a councilman made quite a statement regarding his views on firearms and law enforcement.
Essentially, he believes law-abiding citizens and police officers should all be unarmed.
“My staff won’t let me tell you that I think we oughta get rid of guns in the city and that police shouldn’t have guns so I’m not gonna tell you that,” said Councilman David Grosso, according to a local CBS affiliate.
While some within the crowd at the Howard University School of Business were taken aback by that suggestion, another councilman noted that it was not all that uncommon overseas for police to patrol the beat without a firearm.
“In other countries not every police enforcement officer is armed with a weapon that’s going to kill somebody,” said councilman Tommy Wells, adding that “It’s one thing to escalate with a billy club versus escalating with a pistol.”
It goes without saying but outright banning all firearms in the District is an absurd idea, not only because it contravenes the Second Amendment rights of D.C. denizens, but also because under the handgun ban that the District had in place up until 2008, when the Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional in the landmark Heller decision, crime was higher then than it is today, suggesting that restricting the right of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms not only doesn’t lower crime, but has the potential to increase it.
Put another way, taking away firearms from law enforcement and law-abiding citizens is every hardened criminal’s dream because an unarmed society is an easily victimized society.
Here’s a related video on the hearing:
Even if it was a good idea (which of course it’s not), it would be like putting toothpaste back in the tube.
I agree, no one in D.C. should have a gun.
First take all the weapons from any LEO and security detail ( FBI, Secret Service and the myriad of others who carry ).
Offer all the common citizens housing out of the D.C. area.
Now D.C. population only politicos and assorted vectors than are known to cloud around said politicians.
Make sure all the families of politicians live in the city limits so they are out of the protection of armed LEO’s.
Let the folks left rejoice at their new found freedom from worry, strife and safety.
I’ve personally met members of The New Scotland Yard who have admitted that uniformed officers carry concealed while on duty. Crimes are downplayed and kept quiet to give the illusion that the populace is safe. As long as the criminals refuse to follow the law, these brave men will not allow themselves to become victims, regardless of what their cowardly political leaders and supervisors tell them.
Maybe this fella should be dressed as cop w/badge…given only a taser and dropped off for few days in a DC slum and see how his opinion may change. Fools are abundant…yet are still fools. Betcha he votes for Hillary duh.
NEVER bring just a Billy Club to a Gun Fight !!! – DUH !!! There’s no remedy for being STOOOPID !!!
IF there’s a shortage of police officers in DC now … THEN pass that asinine, imbecilic proposal & take a roll call !!!
The guy is probably a closet “Anti Gunner” and does carry or he has a death wish living in DC. I would love to hear what he says when someone is ready to blow him away…..Pray for a gun…….
Please have your Grosso neutered so as to not perpetuate stupidity.
Thank you.
I worked and lived in the DC area from 1989 to 1995. During that time there were an average of 800 to over 900 murders per night in DC. That’s right 900. I have since moved back to the heartland. We have our issues our here that’s true. And we have no brained elected officials but not to the degree that DC had then and still has. My suggestion for the councilman if and when you need a police officer’s assistance call an unarmed neighbor and see how that works. Then come and tell me you want the police force unarmed. Why not expand the idea to giving our soldiers rocks and sticks, didn’t work in China during the 80s.
i think you must mean 900 murders A YEAR, don’t you? 900 murders a night and the whole city would be dead in a little over a year.
David Grosso is a Dumbass, most likely another Fucktard’s Puppet, ie. Bloomberg…
Well put.
Once again ignorant voters put ignorant people in office such D.C. Council Member David Grosso. Maybe in 1817, his ideas might have some merit. But not in crime ridden Washington, DC. Wash., DC and other US States should all agree on a good testing procedure for US Citizens to apply for and Conceal Firearm License (CHL). Only law abiding US Citizens will be allowed to apply and obtain a CHL. No Non-US citizens, felons and ex-felons and those persons that have been diagnosed with mental and some with certain physical disabilities. But Wash., DC and other states should have strict penalties for ALL violators of the use of a firearm. Kick out the pot smokers out of jails and make room for the firearm violators.
I was unfortunately born and raised in Washington DC. As soon as I was old enough to make a living for myself I moved away because in some parts of the city not having a gun meant your life or property was pretty much forfeit back in the 80’s. I would love to take this genius over to some of the public housing complex’s in the southeast side of the city at night and let him try to tell those wonderful people he wants their guns. I am sure the gangbangers there would just hand them over because as we all know criminals all obey gun control laws right??? What a horses ass, he and Mr. Bloomberg must have each other on speed dial.
Police and military are the only ones with assult weapons. The public has rifles that sometimes look like assult rifles.
Assault weapon is a just a name used to describe an assailant’s weapon.
A weapon can be anything you attack with.
Assault weapon or rifle is a label anti-gun stooges use to make firearms sound bad.
OK, I’m starting a movement, let’s see where it goes. From now on, I want everyone to refer to any car that is either a 2-door or black or red or more than 250hp as a “race car”. So when a criminal leaves a scene, they were fleeing in a “race car” no clarification of model or type of vehicle, just that it was designed to be driven by professionals on an oval or track and citizens should not have them.
For example “The home invaders upon seeing an armed homeowner ran out the front door and fled the scene in a race car” or “The police chased the suspect’s race car down the interstate at speeds approaching 100 mph”
The point? We all know there are very few race cars in public hands and even fewer with permits to operate them on public highways. The real ones you see on TV on Sunday cost 10x what a regular car cost at a regular car dealership, but if the people who keep calling semi-auto rifles “assault rifles” refuse to understand there is a huge difference in price, availability, and especially performance, then we play their game and try to get them to see how stupid they look.
If we only had enough people who read this that were in the main stream media, it might work, but alas, I know who reads this blog and 99% of us already know the difference and are fighting the same battle for the minds of the uneducated.
Wow
When you are dead, you don’t know that you are dead. It is only difficult for the others.
It is the same when you are stupid.
This applies equally to the electorate and the elected.
That’s funny.
Thanks BRASS.
Well, Mr. Grosso is, of course, entitled to his opinion. Just like any other fool in this country. And he is correct in stating that in some European countries (Great Britain for one, and perhaps others), the average street cop is not armed with a gun.
What he doesn’t mention is that this is because the average crook “plays by the rules,” and is similarly unarmed. When a situation develops in which the crooks or terrorists are armed, special armed units in the police force are summoned and do their best to bring down the wrath of God on the bad guys. Also the Brits have a loooong history of an unarmed populace.
The situation and history in this country is completely different. Many, if not most, of our crooks have guns. Also we don’t have a cop on practically every street corner.
Mr. Grosso’s concept is purely pie-in-the-sky thinking and utterly unrealistic. It will occur when every gangster and every cop join hands and start singing Kumbaya–in other words, never. Until then we have to rely on an armed police force and an armed citizenry for when the cops aren’t around.
“In other countries not every police enforcement officer is armed with a weapon that’s going to kill somebody.”
This is not only true in other countries, it’s true here. Many officers in this country never use their sidearms in the course of their careers, and only a very few kill anyone. In this county most police are not “armed with a weapon that’s going to kill somebody.
THATS SOME STINKING GAY THINKING, HE FORGOT TO SAY HE IS FOR SAME SEX MARRIAGE AND GAY RIGHTS TOO..
What does that have to do with guns you efn hate muging bigot. Gays need guns to protect themselves from fools like you.
That councillor should try walking the streets ( not around the Whitehouse, just a few blocks away ) of Washington, DC at night without a gun friend, or cop near by.
His viewpoint might change !