How many guns does it take to break up a snowball fight?
Washington D.C. residents celebrating the historic snows this week with a snowball fight in the middle of town. Crowds had gathered to enjoy the unusually heavy weather and they were apparently having a lot of fun – until a less than merry off-duty police office reacted poorly to his vehicle being hit by one such snowball.
Now, I’ve seen some over-reactions in my day, but the worst part of all is how the other police officers unquestioningly come to his aid and help him gain retribution by hauling off a prisoner.
On the one hand, a group of citizens have gathered together to play and joke in the holiday spirit. On the other hand is a gun-waving police officer with a poor sense of humor and a huge need to act tough in front of a defenseless crowd.
Further complicating matters are the gun laws in Washington D.C. Had this individual driving the hummer been any citizen other than a police officer, he wouldn’t have been legally allowed to carry the gun in the first place! Instead of trusting everyone with this basic and constitutionally explicit right, D.C. limits it to the kind of people who make vague threats of violence over snowballs.
Merry Christmas America, sleep soundly this holiday knowing that your tax money is going to protect you from the horrors of a spontaneous winter-time revelry.