Red Alert -- Hawaii Republican Assembly

The Hawaii Republican Assembly (HIRA), an affiliated chapter of
the National Federation of Republican Assemblies,
is the conservative standard-bearer of the Republican Party in Hawaii
and the leading advocate for conservative solutions in the islands.

We are not an official arm of the Republican Party of Hawaii.
We are the conservative base of the Republican Party.
Please join us soon at www.HawaiiRepublicanAssembly.com

In March, 2013, law enforcement advocacy group PoliceOne.com released the findings from its 2013 Gun Policy & Law Enforcement Survey, which drew more than 15,000 completed responses from verified law enforcement professionals.

Covering a broad range of topics related to the gun control debate, the survey found that the overall attitude of law enforcement is strongly anti-gun legislation and pro-gun rights, with the belief that an armed citizenry is effective in stopping crime. The results reveal that an overwhelming majority of police take no comfort in so-called gun control laws which ultimately only apply to law-abiding citizens and have no effect on criminals or the insane.

The Hawaii Republican Assembly takes comfort in knowing that our constitutionally-based principles about gun ownership is in total alignment with our brave men and women in uniform who serve with police departments nationwide.

Here are some key findings in that survey (from PoliceOne.com):

Virtually all respondents (95 percent) say that a federal ban on manufacture and sale of ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds would not reduce violent crime.
The majority of respondents — 71 percent — say a federal ban on the manufacture and sale of some semi-automatics would have no effect on reducing violent crime.
About 85 percent of officers say the passage of the White House's currently proposed legislation would have a zero or negative effect on their safety.
More than 28 percent of officers say having more permissive concealed carry policies for civilians would help most in preventing large scale shootings in public, followed by more aggressive institutionalization for mentally ill persons (about 19 percent) and more armed guards/paid security personnel (about 15 percent).
The overwhelming majority (almost 90 percent) of officers believe that casualties would be decreased if armed citizens were present at the onset of an active-shooter incident.
More than 80 percent of respondents support arming school teachers and administrators who willingly volunteer to train with firearms and carry one in the course of the job.
More than four in five respondents (81 percent) say that gun-buyback programs are ineffective in reducing gun violence.

And the last significant finding must be highlighted . . .

While some officers say gun violence in the United States stems from violent movies and video games (14 percent), early release and short sentencing for violent offenders (14 percent) and poor identification/treatments of mentally-ill individuals (10 percent), the majority (38 percent) blame a decline in parenting and family values.

However, disregarding the experience of thousands of police officers and the rejection of vacuous gun laws in the U.S. Senate, the Democrat dominated State Legislature just passed more restrictive gun laws which will make it harder for law-abiding citizens to exercise their right to defend themselves while setting the stage for criminals to have even more of an advantage over the rest of us.

Thanks to virtually all Democrat legislators (and 5 of 7 Republicans in the State House), we have yet another costly law passed today that presents the illusion of safety while advancing the anti-gun agenda. That's the price of having so many Democrats and so few conservative Republicans in office here in the islands.

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LINK to the full 2013 survey results BY PoliceOne.com which provides eye-opening information about what cops really think.

LINK to PoliceOne.com's analysis of its 2013 survey.