WOODBURN, Ind. (WANE) — The chief of the Woodburn Police Department pledged to never take away city residents’ guns in the improbable event martial law would be declared.
In a Facebook post late Monday, Chief Randall Duhamell posted on the Woodburn Police Department’s Facebook page that his department has fielded requests for information about martial law.
“LET ME BE CLEAR….We Will NEVER take your weapons…no matter who tells us too!” Duhamell wrote in the post.
“All of our officers swore an oath to protect our community against all enemies. We may use those citizens that legally carry as helpers in times of emergency.”
As of 10 a.m. Tuesday, the post was shared more than 2,200 times.
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“We will never come and take your guns from your house or your vehicles,” the chief told News 18’s sister station, WANE, in an interview. “That’s not what we’re about, and I just wanted to share that with the community and let them know that we support the Second Amendment.”
I want to state up front that I appreciate the sentiment, and I also appreciate Chief Duhamell’s stated commitment to the second amendment. I also appreciate the fact that he came out and said something to the community when he knew it was a salient issue and needed to be addressed. I don’t want to be a jerk in the things I’m about to say.
The second amendment doesn’t justify my right to own weapons. It is a covenant by which men agree to live together under certain stipulations. They presence or absence of bearing arms in that covenant doesn’t affect in its essence the real basis for my bearing of arms.
That comes from God alone. Furthermore, the intended use of carriers for times of emergency by the Chief is affirming, but irrelevant. If gun owners are never any use to anyone but themselves and their families, that doesn’t affect one iota the real justification for the bearing of arms.
Finally, while I note that the Chief was probably speaking about intent rather than action, I would rather he had said that he and his officers would never attempt to confiscate weapons because that would be immoral. Or more to the point, no sir, you never will take my weapons, and you don’t get the last say-so in the matter.
I would have been more affirmed and much more approving if the Chief had said not only would his officers never attempt to confiscate weapons, he would expect justified resistance if his officers attempted to do so.