Allowing Maine Forest Rangers to Carry Firearms (Portland, Bangor: low crime, houses)

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by kevin5098

Forest Rangers are charged with execution of law enforcement duties in MRS Title 12 section 8901 para 3. How would you separate the use of firearms for personal protection vs. use in LE activities?

In theory Law Enforcement Officers receive far more hours of on-going firearm training every year, than what a civilian might get by attending a hunter safety class once / lifetime.

When I served as an MP, we did quarterly training and it was on a course designed to simulate combat.

For personal ownership and to carry a firearm for personal protection does not require any training.

[kevin5098]

Originally Posted by Submariner

In theory Law Enforcement Officers receive far more hours of on-going firearm training every year, than what a civilian might get by attending a hunter safety class once / lifetime.

When I served as an MP, we did quarterly training and it was on a course designed to simulate combat.

For personal ownership and to carry a firearm for personal protection does not require any training.

I guess my point is that while they may have had sufficient training for self defense, many have had no LE specific training. If they are allowed to carry personal weapons for self defense, perhaps they should be required to undergo LE training, since they will be armed during the execution of their LE duties. The current proposed legisation does not address training.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

No forest ranger is going to shoot anybody for cutting trees too close to a wet spot. Last year a Maine resident killed some people, including a logger on the job. The man on the loader was shot in the butt as he dove off the loader to escape. The man on the ground was killed. This happened in my town, not far from my house.

A private citizen who came across the situation could have stopped it. A forest ranger could not have stopped it. The present policy prevents forest rangers from carrying. Just let those who want to carry do so. You guess which ones are carrying, just as you guess which citizens are carrying.

Maine and Vermont have the lowest crime rates. That is because we have Constitutional carry.

[massnative71]

If a ranger decides to carry, they are effectively arming themselves. If they are forced to use it while carrying out their duties of the job, I believe the state would be liable (I don't see any way around it). I see a s$#% storm brewing over that.


I do think that in this day and age they should be armed, but that will cost the state $$$ and would be a hard sell to many.


The other issue is, suppose there are rangers unable to qualify for whatever reason. I suppose they could be grandfathered in...

[kevin5098]

Maybe the best course of action would be to remove law enforcement from their duties.

[kevin5098]

Originally Posted by Submariner

In theory Law Enforcement Officers receive far more hours of on-going firearm training every year, than what a civilian might get by attending a hunter safety class once / lifetime.

When I served as an MP, we did quarterly training and it was on a course designed to simulate combat.

For personal ownership and to carry a firearm for personal protection does not require any training.

The statement in bold is technically correct however I would submit that to safely carry a firearm and lawfuly protect oneself does require at least some training.

[399083453]

Originally Posted by kevin5098

Maybe the best course of action would be to remove law enforcement from their duties.

Well, the guy who inspects food safety at the potato plant is also enforcing law, should he be armed with a gun?

Maine forest rangers are responsible for:

- Forest Health and Monitoring, which protects against insect and disease.

- Forest Policy and Management, which monitors compliance with the Forest Practices Act, provides technical assistance and educational services, reports on forest resources and responds to policy issues.

- Forest Protection, which includes the rangers, where the mission is “to protect Maine’s forest resources and homes from wildfire, respond to disasters and emergencies and to enhance the safe, sound, and responsible management of the forest for this and future generations.”

The forest rangers were issued ballistic vests for $43,268. Government waste...

Bottom line...... not every job needs to be armed. These programs cost big bucks, government doesn't do anything cheap. They would need to purchase, initial training, annual training, bump up pay for being armed, bump up retirements, etc......

[kevin5098]

Originally Posted by 399083453

Well, the guy who inspects food safety at the potato plant is also enforcing law, should he be armed with a gun?

Maine forest rangers are responsible for:

- Forest Health and Monitoring, which protects against insect and disease.

- Forest Policy and Management, which monitors compliance with the Forest Practices Act, provides technical assistance and educational services, reports on forest resources and responds to policy issues.

- Forest Protection, which includes the rangers, where the mission is “to protect Maine’s forest resources and homes from wildfire, respond to disasters and emergencies and to enhance the safe, sound, and responsible management of the forest for this and future generations.”

The forest rangers were issued ballistic vests for $43,268. Government waste...

Bottom line...... not every job needs to be armed. These programs cost big bucks, government doesn't do anything cheap. They would need to purchase, initial training, annual training, bump up pay for being armed, bump up retirements, etc......

The forest service is assigned law enforcement by statute (MRS Title 12 section 8901). The environment in which they perform their duties is much different than a "potato inspector". I agree that not every job needs to be armed but if they are charged with enforcing the law in an environment in which the peretrators are likely to be armed, then they should be provided the equipment and training to safey perform their duties.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

"Well, the guy who inspects food safety at the potato plant is also enforcing law, should he be armed with a gun?"

In Maine, it's up to the individual.

[Mark S.]

Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man

Maine and Vermont have the lowest crime rates. That is because we have Constitutional carry.

I'm sure the low population spread amongst rural communities has nothing to do with it. It's all about the guns.