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To whom it may concern,
An official with the Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs has brought to my attention that, beginning in January, the State of Oregon will join several other states in marking the drivers licenses of veterans with a large, red capital "V" to make it known that that person is a veteran. This is being masqueraded as an effort to ease potential conflicts between veterans and law enforcement officers, supposedly by allowing the officer to re-evaluate their appoach to the suspect, as if the veteran is a potential threat; however, it would seem that there could be a much more complex and nefarious purpose behind the big red "V". It is important to note that this official (who has not given permission to be named) recenly returned from a seminar, where he lectured many law enforcment leaders from the local area on identifying and negotiating Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in suspects.
In April 2009, Homeland Security secretary Janet Nepalitano signed off on a report that was disseminated to the hundreds of sub-agencies that the DHS absorbed under the Patriot Act. The report explicity listed returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans as terrorist threats to the United States. The insinuations from this report were echoed in the infamous MIAC Report, as well as numerous publications from the newly federalized Southern Poverty Law Center. Also, many media outlets over the last two years have given some attention to the issue of veteran suicides. The reports commonly advocate for ristricting firearms access to veterans.
Case in point, this article that appeared in the Oregonian:
A case in Umatilla County shows that for veterans, suicide is a mortal enemy | OregonLive.com
"Veterans are not at greater risk of dying of natural causes or other violent death than any other civilian, according to research by Mark Kaplan, a suicide expert and professor at the Portland State University School of Community Health. But veterans of any age are more than twice as likely to commit suicide, Kaplan and his colleagues found.
"Firearms are the most common means -- about 34 percent higher than non-vets, the study found. Service members are so comfortable with and so likely to own guns that the researchers say prevention must address access. Almost everyone who attempts suicide with a gun dies, Kaplan says."
How this relates to firearms:
It is depressing to imagine the young men and women who come home from war having the very Constitutional Rights that they put their lives on the line for stripped from them by their own government. While it is said that the big red "V" will be optional, it's not hard to forsee the consequences for those who choose to 'opt-in'. It's no secret that the powers that be do not like our Right to bear arms, and it's becoming more clear that disarming veterans seems to be a priority. Does anyone remember House Bill HR 2640, the so-called Veterans Disarmament Act? Here's a link, in case you forgot:
Larry Pratt -- Veterans Disarmament Act to Bar Vets from Owning Guns
I, for one, will NOT have my license marked. It's not right that I should be perceived differently by Law Enforcement. What's so different? I get told all the time at VA, "Oh, you're not crazy, you're not different, blahblahblah..." , so why would it be necessary to train police officers to treat me different? Not to mention it's kinda.... Creepy. Think about it:
*Thick German accent, hint of Bavarian*
"Vhere are youwr ppaypehrs??"
Ya know what I mean? I know it is supposed to be a benevolent gesture to, ahem, "help veterans re-assimilate" or whatever, but isn't the road to **** paved with good intentions? What about the road to Fema Camps? What are they paved with?
Anyways, I just wanted to hear some other thoughts on this.
DeathRattle
c-co 2-12 CAV
PS. Much love to the boys in blue. I'm not hatin'. You just keep doing the best job you can.
Mods: wasn't sure if I should put this here, or the off topic area. I eniemenieminiemoe'd it, and... voila!
An official with the Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs has brought to my attention that, beginning in January, the State of Oregon will join several other states in marking the drivers licenses of veterans with a large, red capital "V" to make it known that that person is a veteran. This is being masqueraded as an effort to ease potential conflicts between veterans and law enforcement officers, supposedly by allowing the officer to re-evaluate their appoach to the suspect, as if the veteran is a potential threat; however, it would seem that there could be a much more complex and nefarious purpose behind the big red "V". It is important to note that this official (who has not given permission to be named) recenly returned from a seminar, where he lectured many law enforcment leaders from the local area on identifying and negotiating Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in suspects.
In April 2009, Homeland Security secretary Janet Nepalitano signed off on a report that was disseminated to the hundreds of sub-agencies that the DHS absorbed under the Patriot Act. The report explicity listed returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans as terrorist threats to the United States. The insinuations from this report were echoed in the infamous MIAC Report, as well as numerous publications from the newly federalized Southern Poverty Law Center. Also, many media outlets over the last two years have given some attention to the issue of veteran suicides. The reports commonly advocate for ristricting firearms access to veterans.
Case in point, this article that appeared in the Oregonian:
A case in Umatilla County shows that for veterans, suicide is a mortal enemy | OregonLive.com
"Veterans are not at greater risk of dying of natural causes or other violent death than any other civilian, according to research by Mark Kaplan, a suicide expert and professor at the Portland State University School of Community Health. But veterans of any age are more than twice as likely to commit suicide, Kaplan and his colleagues found.
"Firearms are the most common means -- about 34 percent higher than non-vets, the study found. Service members are so comfortable with and so likely to own guns that the researchers say prevention must address access. Almost everyone who attempts suicide with a gun dies, Kaplan says."
How this relates to firearms:
It is depressing to imagine the young men and women who come home from war having the very Constitutional Rights that they put their lives on the line for stripped from them by their own government. While it is said that the big red "V" will be optional, it's not hard to forsee the consequences for those who choose to 'opt-in'. It's no secret that the powers that be do not like our Right to bear arms, and it's becoming more clear that disarming veterans seems to be a priority. Does anyone remember House Bill HR 2640, the so-called Veterans Disarmament Act? Here's a link, in case you forgot:
Larry Pratt -- Veterans Disarmament Act to Bar Vets from Owning Guns
I, for one, will NOT have my license marked. It's not right that I should be perceived differently by Law Enforcement. What's so different? I get told all the time at VA, "Oh, you're not crazy, you're not different, blahblahblah..." , so why would it be necessary to train police officers to treat me different? Not to mention it's kinda.... Creepy. Think about it:
*Thick German accent, hint of Bavarian*
"Vhere are youwr ppaypehrs??"
Ya know what I mean? I know it is supposed to be a benevolent gesture to, ahem, "help veterans re-assimilate" or whatever, but isn't the road to **** paved with good intentions? What about the road to Fema Camps? What are they paved with?
Anyways, I just wanted to hear some other thoughts on this.
DeathRattle
c-co 2-12 CAV
PS. Much love to the boys in blue. I'm not hatin'. You just keep doing the best job you can.
Mods: wasn't sure if I should put this here, or the off topic area. I eniemenieminiemoe'd it, and... voila!
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