I'm an NRA member with no plans to resign membership. President Bush’s membership was apparently for political expedience rather than principle. Efforts by political opponents to paint the NRA membership as irresponsible crackpots are grossly unfair. But no one ever said politics and ideological warfare were fair. No prohibitions on low punches, kicks, biting, and scratching. Lacking any solid logical punches, it's the best the anti-NRA people can do.

Let's review the brouhaha over the NRA referring to ATF agents as "jack-booted thugs." For accuracy's sake, it’s Michigan Democrat John Dingell who's been calling ATF agents "jack-booted American fascists" since 1982. The April 1995 issue of NRA's American Hunter magazine contained several features on ATF abuses which described ATF as a "rogue agency." The same abuses were described in an NRA fund-raising letter which ignited the furor over "inflammatory rhetoric." It described "federal agents wearing Nazi bucket helmets and black storm trooper uniforms". All the media hype over fund-raising hyperbole ignores the diverse coalition of groups led by the ACLU and NRA calling for a national commission on law enforcement abuses.

There are numerous well-documented abuses other than Waco and the Weaver incident. Monique Montgomery was wounded in a 4 a.m. ATF raid on her St. Louis home where no illegal drugs or guns were found. The time was selected to maximize disorientation. I, too, would have reached for a gun. Pregnant Kimberly Katona miscarried after roughhousing from ATF agents who found no criminal evidence against her husband. Harry and Theresa Lumplugh's rural Pennsylvania home was invaded by 15-20 armed ATF agents. They cooperated by opening safes and handing over papers, yet the intimidation continued. One agent held a submachine gun in their faces, another uttered racial slurs, another emptied numerous vials of cancer medication on the bathroom floor, another stomped a pet cat to death. No evidence of wrong-doing was found. The list of outrages far exceeds the available space here.

Let me clarify by pronouncing that the vast majority of law enforcement officers, federal, state, and local, are upstanding public servants. We, the people, must walk a tightrope between hamstringing their efforts to fight crime and insisting they apply adequate restraint.

Phrases like "jack-booted thugs" strike me as quite accurate when applied to the specific abuses described above. However, our rhetoric must be more specific. Challenge imprecise language when you hear or read it. Demand examples and supporting evidence.

My friends in local law enforcement fear overreacting to a confrontation and facing prosecution for excessive force. They also know that that fear may cause hesitation which could result in injury or death to themselves or others. They walk this razor's edge because we demand restraint and sound judgment in every split-second decision.

Accessibility enables accountability. In this regard, there's a significant difference between local and federal law enforcement. Local officers are generally held directly accountable for their actions. The feds, however, operate behind an enormous shield. Average citizens have much less access to directly challenge abuses by federal officers in an anonymous bureaucracy. For example, the President and Attorney General issued denials and consider the Waco matter closed. Only continued public outrage prompted Congressional hearings. Many people doubt we have the whole truth.

The term "untouchables" referred to feds who couldn't be bought or corrupted. The untouchable concept stems from their authority originating in a distant national capitol. The term implies that all local officials are corrupted by close contact and political dependence on the local peoples they serve. It boils down to a matter of character for both local and federal law enforcement.

Television and movies have built a mystique around the FBI and their "untouchable" noble character. The contrasting stereotype is the arrogant fed who never understands the situation like the savvy local hero. The truth lies somewhere in the middle of those extremes. The bottom line is that no law enforcement should be "untouchable" when it comes to accountability.

Copyright Ó1996 Steve Scroggins - All rights reserved.