🚀 go-pugleaf

In ca.general George T. Kramer <geomoto@sprynet.com> wrote:

: safety services director, commissioner, or all three. The chief of police
: has two major sources of great influence as to what he will claim in public
: as to his views on CCW. The first is the mayor's office (and/or city
: council) and the second is any union affiliation he belongs to. Unions are
: invariably part of the Democratic Party establishment, and thus beholden to
             ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

     Tell it to the Teamsters.

: them. It necessarily follows that as union members, they march in lockstep
: with the Democratic Party views concerning CCW. For this reason the
: International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Fraternal Order of
: Police (FOP) are invariably in agreement when it comes to public
: pronouncements concerning CCW; they are completely against it.

     You've pretty much got it backwards.  It is the line officers who
are union members, and the chiefs who are anti-union because the union
wants to interfere with decisions on raises, promotions, policies, etc.
If the unions that represent police (as distinct from groups like the 
IACP, which represent chiefs) are pro-gun-control, it's not because they
reflect the views of the chiefs.  In my ciy, the police association and
its president are often at severe odds with the chief and the mayor.

: Please keep in mind that union and association public pronouncements are
: always orchastrated and do not at all reflect true opinion of the
: membership. Thus, when the International or FOP decry CCW, it doesn't mean a
: thing - except to the media and politicians. In essence, quoting the opinion
: of the International or FOP is but deception.

     Who elects those union and association executives, anyway??

: My state does not have CCW and the recently elected Republican governor
: vetoed a passed CCW bill. It was a very odd debate. The spokesman for the
: FOP presented all of the expected duplicitous and erroneous rhetoric on a
: radio news program while a state law enforcement policy lobbyist easily
: refuted it. However, the FOP and International has considerably more
: political clout than a mere lobbyist, so the governor sided with those who
: better keep him in office. The people did not matter. The "fun" will begin
: in a few months because the state capital police department faces a federal
: consent decree, whereas if enforced, police officers will take a "hands-off"
: stance with respect to arresting suspects (less they face departmental
: discipline because of complaints issued by arrested suspects). The crooks
: will have carte blanche. What a cluster ...

     If you live in a state where unions have more power than (other)
lobbyists, you are just about unique.