Can Police Set Aside Gun Control Beliefs for Gun Violence Awareness?

Supporting Gun Violence Awareness Day is not a second amendment issue for some law enforcement leaders.

2016-05-gun-pixabay.jpg

Gun violence kills more than 90 Americans a day and injures hundreds more. So Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America asked people across the U.S. to wear orange on National Gun Violence Awareness Day, June 2, 2017.

“It is a color that demands to be seen,” says the group’s website.

The group advocates opposing the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017 introduced by Representative Richard Hudson of North Carolina in January, among other state efforts to relax gun control laws. That bill is with the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations. It amends the federal criminal code to allow a qualified individual to carry a concealed handgun into or possess a concealed handgun in another state that allows individuals to carry concealed firearms.

Most police leaders and police officers are not in favor of limiting second amendment rights.

The National Association of Chiefs of Police surveyed more than 20,000 sheriffs and chiefs of police in 2016 and found 86.4 percent “support nationwide recognition of state issued concealed weapon permits” and 76 percent believe that “qualified, law-abiding armed citizens help law enforcement reduce violent criminal activity.” Rank-and-file police officers are even more supportive of private gun ownership.

Despite what their gun control beliefs may be, some police officers are still supporting National Gun Violence Awareness Day.

Tonight the Durham, N.C., Police Department will be illuminated with orange, and staff planned to wear orange clothing and wristbands as a stand against gun violence, according to the Herald Sun.

In Louisville, Ky., Louisville Metro councilors and police officers stood with survivors and local Moms Demand Action activists to discuss gun violence. They report the Big Four Bridge will be aglow in orange tonight.

In Lexington, Ky., today, Mayor Jim Gray and Police Chief Mark Barnard gathered with community representatives and the local Moms Demand Action. Despite the group’s political leanings, Chief Barnard supports their efforts to talk about gun violence:

Andrea Fox is Editor of Gov1.com and Senior Editor at Lexipol. She is based in Massachusetts.

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU