For teenagers interested in pursuing a police career, the idea of offering a cadet program to get an introduction to what law enforcement officers do sounds commendable. But anti-gunners in England, a country where strict gun restrictions abound, think otherwise.
When the Derbyshire County Constabulary invited 13- to 18-year-olds to learn what police work entails, the course included a visit to the shooting range, where the teens got acquainted with firearms and their role in policing.
Sounds fair enough, right? Night sticks just don’t work in all cases, and you’d think that England, which has experienced bombings and vehicular terrorism, including an attack on the subway system, would understand the value of guns. But after someone posted a picture showing the teens with firearms to the Derby Police Cadets Twitter account, that was too much for anti-gun zealots.
“The police have no business encouraging young people to develop an interest in guns,” a UK Gun Control Network (GCN) said afterward. Maybe the GCN thinks the next generation of cops will just learn firearm safety and proper usage through osmosis.
Regardless, the effect of the country’s attitude toward guns already has hampered law enforcement’s ability to maintain control and take down criminals and terrorists can be devastating, as the force is critically short-handed in terms of the number of authorized firearms officer. See the NRA Institute for Legislative Action page for more information.
