Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Body Armor: Passive Protection or Spree Killing Enabler?

Plan9 · 04-08-2009, 05:13 AM

First with the worst:

The two most recent (as of my popcorn memory) CNN 5-minutes-worthy spree killings in the US featured gunmen that were supposedly wearing body armor (Binghamton, Pittsburgh). The "enlightened" media commentary was that the gunmen were anticipating a shootout with the police and intended on extending their survivability by donning protective vests before they started their respective rampages. Intent aside, neither of these jokers had a chance to actually use their vests (NY guy gave himself a third nostril and the PA guy was SWAT'd and is now in custody).

My thoughts:

My position is that personally owned body armor is probably going to be a casualty of these kinds of shooting incidents. Bad press leads to stuffed shirt "action." The gotta-blame-something crowd is starting to milk the gun arena dry again. Body armor doesn't kill people, it doesn't give anyone superhuman abilities (other than foolish confidence perhaps), and it's prohibitively expensive. Much like the hype created around "assault weapons," body armor may go the way of the dodo simply because of repetitive liberal media mention / political scapegoating.

This is more of a non-issue, short of bad guys using hard plate body armor inserts, as many police departments now have "patrol carbines" or 5.56mm M16 / M4 style weapons in their vehicles. 5.56mm ammunition easily defeats soft body armor.

Question:

Do you feel that body armor ("bulletproof" vests) is simply a passive protection item and should be left alone or that it enables spree killers and other criminals and should be more heavily regulated at the state or federal level (more like firearms)?

=EDIT=

PURPOSE OF THREAD: Create a discussion to examine the perspective of various TFPers in regards to how they see body armor as a political issue. Is it one? Could it be made one? What other issues are involved?

04-08-2009, 05:13 AM	#1 (permalink)
Plan9 I Confess a Shiver	Body Armor: Passive Protection or Spree Killing Enabler? First with the worst: The two most recent (as of my popcorn memory) CNN 5-minutes-worthy spree killings in the US featured gunmen that were supposedly wearing body armor (Binghamton, Pittsburgh). The "enlightened" media commentary was that the gunmen were anticipating a shootout with the police and intended on extending their survivability by donning protective vests before they started their respective rampages. Intent aside, neither of these jokers had a chance to actually use their vests (NY guy gave himself a third nostril and the PA guy was SWAT'd and is now in custody). My thoughts: My position is that personally owned body armor is probably going to be a casualty of these kinds of shooting incidents. Bad press leads to stuffed shirt "action." The gotta-blame-something crowd is starting to milk the gun arena dry again. Body armor doesn't kill people, it doesn't give anyone superhuman abilities (other than foolish confidence perhaps), and it's prohibitively expensive. Much like the hype created around "assault weapons," body armor may go the way of the dodo simply because of repetitive liberal media mention / political scapegoating. This is more of a non-issue, short of bad guys using hard plate body armor inserts, as many police departments now have "patrol carbines" or 5.56mm M16 / M4 style weapons in their vehicles. 5.56mm ammunition easily defeats soft body armor. Question: Do you feel that body armor ("bulletproof" vests) is simply a passive protection item and should be left alone or that it enables spree killers and other criminals and should be more heavily regulated at the state or federal level (more like firearms)? =EDIT= PURPOSE OF THREAD: Create a discussion to examine the perspective of various TFPers in regards to how they see body armor as a political issue. Is it one? Could it be made one? What other issues are involved? __________________ *Whatever you can carry.* "You should not drink... and bake." Last edited by Plan9; 04-08-2009 at 07:09 AM..