Except for police, NY state seems to think there’s only a narrow window of humanity who might want to own body armor in a country they keep trying to convince us is awash in crazed mass murderers with rifles. “Not only should you not be able to shoot back at the unstoppable horde of school/mall/movie theater killers, but you shouldn’t be allowed to passively protect yourself with body armor either!” is a hell of a message to push, but somehow, they persist.
So in light of the apparent waves of wild-eyed gunmen they keep shouting about, who should be allowed to protect their body with steel, ceramic, or even L210 plates? Well, naturally its those who are on the front line of this epidemic of Violence That Only Happens Here (except for everywhere else), right? Cashiers, church staff, teachers, the guy who pops popcorn at the theater, are all natural choices for the narrative they push. Well, in a word, no. While the list is still “under review”, the currently anointed few include process servers, building inspectors, journalists, and private investigators.
Private investigators makes some sense. It’s not like in the movies, but being investigated without knowing can really piss some people off. Similarly unlike the movies is Process servers. They don’t dress up as janitors and ambush people in real life, and violence is unusual in that profession from everything one can glean online, but it’s possible, sure. Building inspectors provoked some head-scratching though. I don’t think it’s ever come up, and the most dangerous thing about inspecting buildings has to be climbing around on top of, or under them. Journalists I can actually understand. Given how much people seem to hate them nowadays, it seems both prudent and wise to give them body armor.
So, to summarize, the supposed reason for all this restriction of freedom is the idea that people are getting shot in public places nonstop, (which is of course why we’re told we have to give up our guns) but the people most at risk from this inflated wave of violence can’t armor themselves either. Well, it seems they either forgot their own narrative, or they never believed it in the first place. We know which one we’re betting on.
