Confessions

thats an interesting topic by classifying yourself as christian and owning a gun arent you basically walking the tightrope of "i could spend eternity in hell"? personally i think you can be a gun owner and not choose to use your guns in self defense. You can own a gun and not own the ammo or display it specifically without the need to shoot it. If i owned guns thats how i would use them. Guns are quite beautiful and owning something so intimidating can be exhilarating im sure. the police are pretty notable for protecting their own, as is the nature of a brotherhood, and as an officer if you kill a criminal with a reason to fear for your own life, thats perfectly legal i know tensions run high as an officer, but if your worried about shooting a fleeing suspect then yeah id agree the job isnt for you (though i do sympathize with such fears of impulsive behavior) I suppose thats what the training is for, getting use to the gun your given. You could always go out and practice at a range on your own time as well, but if this is the serious hurdle for you then id recommend speaking to an officer perhaps online (idk maybe ones doing an ama on reddit) or do some research, if you havent already, on the regulations in your area im glad i was able to help, even if a small amount. i dont think our political differences can stop of from having a neutral discourse on topics like this. ill be interested to know if you do join the force and if you so choose then im rooting for you though i do worry about somethings over all i think youd be a splendid officer (though this is coming from someone online who hasnt really gotten the time to meet you, but what i have seen from you i think you have a kind, helpful, and honorable nature)

i dont think iv ever wanted summer to come sooner >W> (jk jk~) https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e467923803554674f6c6e39a742d67056a0c9af93a58107c79ae0fd29063de1b.gif

I lied I forgot how convoluted and obscure the process is. I've searched before and am now again with a renewed spark. The information is overwhelming in Point A (where I am now assessing qualifications and interest) and Point B (actually becoming an officer) but there is damn near no concise information about how one gets from point A to point B. The inexplicable obscurity and lack of cohesive direction is more of a deterrent for me than anything. There is a lot about education, disqualifiers, all sorts of college programs and all of that but very little about how to apply that or transition to point B which is really disconcerting. Owning a gun but not ever desiring to use it? If it were merely for collecting like people do stamps I could see that point. With that exception aside if you want to buy/own guns you should be prepared to use it (and by doing so you are on the lethal side of the force spectrum). Lamby the only way what you've described about gun ownership makes any sense is purely as a collector (which there is nothing wrong with such a thing) but for any other reason really makes no sense to me. Why would I buy a gun (and not merely as a collector) without the intent to ever use it. Sure I can use it merely as a threat and oftentimes defensive gun use does not require discharge of a firearm.

ask your friend how he got to the training process, that should help you know where to atleast start. and im glad the process is rigorous, its too much of an important job for it to be so black and white and easy to slip into well as a collector of various things myself i like to display my pretty things and not touch them once i have. as someone who is not prepared in the slightest to take a life if i were to collect firearms i would not buy ammo (unless it was also to display) or have my hands anywhere near the trigger. im abit of an elitist but i dont think a good collector should handle their collection more than necessary. personally, if i were to want to fire a gun id go to a gun range and use theirs (assuming gun ranges have guns for people to use, id imagine so but oof what do i know on that topic)

Lamby - yeah gun ranges typically have firearms to rent. As a collector your gun ownership ways make sense but only in that context. I haven't thought about it seriously enough to ask my friend either. Although he went a pretty different route than I see myself going. He got a degree in criminal justice or something like that (I assume to increase his chances and such) while I already have two associates degrees. My Paralegal degree is somewhat relevant but virtually all of my study in acquiring that was in civil law and not criminal law. I would like to know what I'm getting into from start to finish but in the age of the internet there is too much information but yet at the same time not the specific information I need/want. One would think Google would be smart enough to think "what if someone wants information on <insert common query here> but knows diddly squat - we should create a really simple but comprehensive compilation of information"

kek i agree, i had the same problem looking up becoming a teacher