Jeff Byrnes 🚰 🏙️
@thejeffbyrnes.com
🎸 🎻 bassist
👨🏻💻 SRE manager @ athenahealth
🏗️ Steering Committee member & co-founder of Somerville YIMBY
🎮 video gamer
👔 snappy dresser
📚 avid reader
🗺️ Somerville, MA, USA
👨🏻💻 SRE manager @ athenahealth
🏗️ Steering Committee member & co-founder of Somerville YIMBY
🎮 video gamer
👔 snappy dresser
📚 avid reader
🗺️ Somerville, MA, USA
Once again: a handful of specially trained officers being on-call with firearms is wildly different from 33k sworn officers (size of NYPD) carrying a pistol at all times when on duty.
Nobody’s arguing that armed response is _never_ needed. But it is _rarely_ needed, even in the USA w/ all our guns.
Nobody’s arguing that armed response is _never_ needed. But it is _rarely_ needed, even in the USA w/ all our guns.
November 12, 2025 at 7:56 PM
Once again: a handful of specially trained officers being on-call with firearms is wildly different from 33k sworn officers (size of NYPD) carrying a pistol at all times when on duty.
Nobody’s arguing that armed response is _never_ needed. But it is _rarely_ needed, even in the USA w/ all our guns.
Nobody’s arguing that armed response is _never_ needed. But it is _rarely_ needed, even in the USA w/ all our guns.
Indeed. It turns out that being armed as if _everyone_ is packing heat leads to worse outcomes.
Our police should be aligned to reality, which is that _minority_ (about ⅓) of Americans have firearms, and thus should not be carrying except in unusual circumstances.
Y’know, like UK cops.
Our police should be aligned to reality, which is that _minority_ (about ⅓) of Americans have firearms, and thus should not be carrying except in unusual circumstances.
Y’know, like UK cops.
November 12, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Indeed. It turns out that being armed as if _everyone_ is packing heat leads to worse outcomes.
Our police should be aligned to reality, which is that _minority_ (about ⅓) of Americans have firearms, and thus should not be carrying except in unusual circumstances.
Y’know, like UK cops.
Our police should be aligned to reality, which is that _minority_ (about ⅓) of Americans have firearms, and thus should not be carrying except in unusual circumstances.
Y’know, like UK cops.
There’s just so many solutions to reduce firearms being present, and thus improve outcomes for all, that arguing “all cops should be lethally armed” is just so silly to me.
November 12, 2025 at 3:24 AM
There’s just so many solutions to reduce firearms being present, and thus improve outcomes for all, that arguing “all cops should be lethally armed” is just so silly to me.
Gun ownership in the US is heavily concentrated with a minority of folks. And if we required registration of ownership (reasonable, we require cars be registered) cops responding to a call could know ahead of time that they were approaching a firearm-likely situation & being similar equipment.
November 12, 2025 at 3:23 AM
Gun ownership in the US is heavily concentrated with a minority of folks. And if we required registration of ownership (reasonable, we require cars be registered) cops responding to a call could know ahead of time that they were approaching a firearm-likely situation & being similar equipment.
Canada has very heavy gun ownership yet far fewer gun deaths than the US. 🤔
Also: why do we “expect gun violence”? We’ve lots of evidence that armed US cops escalate things they shouldn’t, often ending in death.
We’re not unusual in having sprawling rural places, that’s a canard.
Also: why do we “expect gun violence”? We’ve lots of evidence that armed US cops escalate things they shouldn’t, often ending in death.
We’re not unusual in having sprawling rural places, that’s a canard.
November 12, 2025 at 3:21 AM
Canada has very heavy gun ownership yet far fewer gun deaths than the US. 🤔
Also: why do we “expect gun violence”? We’ve lots of evidence that armed US cops escalate things they shouldn’t, often ending in death.
We’re not unusual in having sprawling rural places, that’s a canard.
Also: why do we “expect gun violence”? We’ve lots of evidence that armed US cops escalate things they shouldn’t, often ending in death.
We’re not unusual in having sprawling rural places, that’s a canard.
Agree with your sentiment, but facts are facts, I’m not gonna disagree w/ empirical reality.
That said, the evidence is clear that cops who don’t carry are way safer & result in better outcomes in every country that doesn’t have them carry firearms.
That said, the evidence is clear that cops who don’t carry are way safer & result in better outcomes in every country that doesn’t have them carry firearms.
November 12, 2025 at 12:34 AM
Agree with your sentiment, but facts are facts, I’m not gonna disagree w/ empirical reality.
That said, the evidence is clear that cops who don’t carry are way safer & result in better outcomes in every country that doesn’t have them carry firearms.
That said, the evidence is clear that cops who don’t carry are way safer & result in better outcomes in every country that doesn’t have them carry firearms.
UK police has specialist firearms officers (as that Wikipedia link mentions), but otherwise do not carry (except for N. Ireland).
But indeed, I was mistaken about the Commonwealth countries.
But indeed, I was mistaken about the Commonwealth countries.
November 11, 2025 at 10:10 PM
UK police has specialist firearms officers (as that Wikipedia link mentions), but otherwise do not carry (except for N. Ireland).
But indeed, I was mistaken about the Commonwealth countries.
But indeed, I was mistaken about the Commonwealth countries.
Oh yeah, “whole language” is some busted ass shit. So busted that the MA Leg is passing a law to require phonics in schools (again) to stomp this shit out.
This largely affected kids in the 90s & later, it was still taking hold in places when I was in primary school in the 80s.
This largely affected kids in the 90s & later, it was still taking hold in places when I was in primary school in the 80s.
November 11, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Oh yeah, “whole language” is some busted ass shit. So busted that the MA Leg is passing a law to require phonics in schools (again) to stomp this shit out.
This largely affected kids in the 90s & later, it was still taking hold in places when I was in primary school in the 80s.
This largely affected kids in the 90s & later, it was still taking hold in places when I was in primary school in the 80s.
Even the countries with lots of guns! Canada & Australia are _right there_
November 11, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Even the countries with lots of guns! Canada & Australia are _right there_