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Manny Fernandez writes in the NYT that the scores of military and police-style vans, trucks and cars offered for sale on Craigslist and eBay have raised concerns for some law enforcement officials particularly after the Dallas attack on a police headquarters but officials say the vehicles appear to be legal for the most part, so there is little they can do. Jeff Funicello, for example, is selling his black 1975 GMC armored truck on Craigslist. The body is armored, and the windows are bulletproof. It has sliding portholes to point rifles from and a sprinkler system inside. Long ago, it transported money, and it was once the target of a shootout in the 1980s.
Of course, people have been driving reinforced cars long before the Dallas attack on a police headquarters. But the celebrities and executives who install bulletproof windows and other types of armor on their vehicles often do not want it noticed. Celebrity clients generally demand that the exteriors of their luxury armored vehicles look normal so they blend in. However those who buy and sell armored vans want people to look. And the popularity of apocalyptic movies and television shows has put a new twist and added a macabre cachet to such vehicles "This is America," says Funicello. "I should be able to have a howitzer or a bazooka if I want one. If I wanted to buy a fire truck, I could."
Original Submission
(Score: 2) by turgid on Saturday June 20 2015, @11:40AM
Let me ask you a question: what's the difference between a redneck with a bazooka rollin' down the street in an armoured battle vehicle and a brown person wandering around town wearing a suicide vest?
That's only about 10% of the story. The root cause is a gun-totin' culture that has led to fear and an arms race. What might have been a good idea in 1815 before machine guns and anti-tank weapons is not such a great idea now in 2015.
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 20 2015, @11:51AM
Nice work skipping over the whole 20th century there. I want my own backpack sized nuclear reactor for inner city personal defense and nuking popcorn.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 20 2015, @12:17PM
a brown person wandering around town wearing a suicide vest
How often do you see brown people in suicide vests? Is it a big problem where you live? Or is it a myth perpetuated by
Jewish mediaspecial interest groups?what's the difference between....
A redneck with a bazooka in an armored vehicle is an uneducated fool. A brown person wearing an FBI-supplied suicide vest is an educated brain-washed fool.
(Score: 2) by turgid on Saturday June 20 2015, @12:27PM
Let me try again: how often to you see rednecks with quasi-military vehicles, anti-tank weapons and automatic rifles?
Now, how do you know what the redneck is up to or intends to do [theguardian.com]?
Who is the greater threat to society?
Why is the redneck allowed to do this sort of thing under the pretence of "freedom?"
What is this freedom we speak of?
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 20 2015, @03:33PM
Why is the redneck allowed to do this sort of thing under the pretence of "freedom?"
What is this freedom we speak of?
That would be the 2nd amendment, which can only be changed with another constitutional amendment. Get to it if you don't like it.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 21 2015, @05:56PM
If you ignore that whole "A well-regulated militia" part of it, you'd be right. Your fallacy is cherry-picking.