Mike...I didn't say "sporting rifles". I said "military-grade weapons". Sporting rifles typically don't have large magazines and high cyclic rates. And, in reference to the police, armored cars and such are a bit over the top. They should be spending the money on more officers, more training of those officers (that DOESN'T involve teaching them that the public is the enemy**), better public outreach. Even something as simple as walking a beat has been shown to increase positive attitudes towards the police, and reduce crime.




**I saw a program about that, wherein a popular training program run by an independent consultant trains the cops that we (the public) are exactly that: the enemy. A threat. Which makes cops more twitchy in their trigger fingers.