MovieChat Forums > Dragnet 1967 (1967) Discussion > Anti-Gun Bias

Anti-Gun Bias

posted 12 years ago by jconn426
15 replies | jump to latest

I love Dragnet, but I don't like the show's anti-gun bias. I'm writing this on the day that freak went on a murderous rampage at a movie theater in Colorado during the premiere showing of "Batman - The Dark Knight Rises". Jack Webb wasn't just against criminals like that owning guns, but ordinary citizens, too. In the "Speak Your Mind" episode where Friday and Gannon appeared on a TV talk show, they depicted a man who wanted to buy a gun without a government paper trail as a disheveled, unshaven, drunken sort. He argued that its his job to protect his family, which included young children. They countered by grilling him on where he would keep the gun. Gannon chimed in and told him if he had time to get his gun, then he'd have time to call the police. (This was the same show that had them telling the head of the "Black Widow Party" that police need to be based in cars because of the big areas their limited force has to patrol.) Mr. Disheveled also added that he wanted to protect his country the way the Founding Fathers intended, without fear that his gun would be confiscated. This, too, was poo-pooed by Friday and Gannon.

To be fair, the Colorado shooter was apprehended moments later by police who happened to be on the scene for crowd control. He must have seen them outside before beginning his attack, yet their presence did NOTHING to dissuade him. Had an armed citizen, or several armed citizens, been in the theater, it might have ended sooner. I said "might", because the chaos that ensued would have made it difficult to pick out and eliminate the perp. In that case, it would be better for civilian concealed carries -- or openly-carried police guns -- to remain holstered. On the other hand, the creeps looking for money for their next fix, or to ignite Helter Skelter because that's what Charlie told them to do, could be stopped dead in their tracks by Mr. Disheveled if his 2nd Amendment rights were upheld by Friday and Gannon. Such cases happen all the time, but rarely get reported outside of the immediate areas where they occur.

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And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

[–] Tobey 12 years ago

You bring up some interesting points. I'm about as left as you can get but I believe that responsible citizens should be allowed (with regulation) to own reasonable guns for hunting and personal protection. There is no legitimate need for assault rifles, 'cop killer' bullets, extended magazines and other military like items to be in the hands of everyday citizens. The militia protection the Constitution lists is more than satisfied by our professional military, all the way down to the guard and reserve units at the local level.
Jack Webb was very pro police, especially LAPD. We also have to remember that during this period many thought there was a real threat of radicals trying to overthrow the government. Domestic terrorist attacks and other violence were an often enough occurence that the public got scared. However, news was much more local. We didn't have multiple cable news channels reporting events within minutes of their occuring and repeating the news 24/7. Broadcast TV, radio and newspapers were the source for most.
We have to remember there have always been nuts out there that will harm people. We just find out about them a lot faster and we have a much larger population now, hence a larger population of crazies.
As a final note, many have mentioned in different places that Colorado might have been different if there would have been someone else armed in that theater to take out the gunman. I suggest all those people look up "Hollywood Bank Shootout". Two heavily armed gunmen with full body armor started a shootout with scores of LAPD and it took nearly an hour to get them down, in broad daylight on public streets. The guy in Colorado has been reported to have some kind of armor on, in a dark theater, smoke or tear gas bombs and hundreds of screaming people trying to get out. Not very good odds. Your comment that it would have been better for someone to keep their gun holstered is on the money.

[–] xdayton 12 years ago

Most police officers are in favor of gun control. That's because they have to deal with real life, not like most pro-gun chicken hawks.

[–] Sethiswas88 12 years ago

Many gun owners are ex military. Are they "chicken hawks" too?

[–] 12 years ago

[deleted]

[–] ZoneFighter 11 years ago

Not true. Many desk bound police chiefs are for gun control but the officers on the streets are not.

[–] movies789 11 years ago

"Most police officers are in favor of gun control."

Oh? Says who? Which poll are you citing? (And be specific, please.)

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] mactach 11 years ago

Keep it to yourself and save your ranting for the political forums!

[–] ck1-5 11 years ago

mactach.....self appointed ruler of the board. Go mow the lawn, dick.

[–] lorenzb-2 11 years ago

Yes, I completely disagreed with Friday and Gannon on that point. I tend to lean left, but I absolutely believe that a law abiding man or woman has the constitutional right to own a handgun, shotgun or rifle. Gannon's point about calling the police instead is flawed. Why? Because the police always arrive after the fact. The stereotypical right wing guy who didn't want register his guns was protrayed as an inarticulate yokel too. However, I part company with the NRA types in that don't think a private citizen needs to own an assault rifle, automatic weapon or cop killer bullets. Just wanting a weapon like that shows your up to no good. All they are designed for is to kill a lot of people fast, and that's exactly what they have been used for on the streets time after time. Let's have some balance here folks. And if someone commits a crime with a firearm either execute them or throw them in a hole and throw away the key!

[–] montgomerydou55 10 years ago

I saw that episode. Since when was Sidney Clute's character disheveled, unshaven, drunk, or inarticulate? He was a veteran, even. He spoke clearly and seriously. I think someone made up those negative attributes to have something to base a false conclusion on.

[–] jconn426 10 years ago

As far as the way the character was portrayed, I called 'em as I saw 'em, and he was shown as being a slovenly sort.

And to those who are against semi-auto rifles that take 30 round mags, I say this: the 2nd Amendment was written by men who saw nothing wrong with ordinary citizens being armed the same as soldiers. A black powder, single shot smoothbore musket or rifle was what a soldier was issued in those days, and just one of them could do something no unarmed man could do: kill a man at distance with just a flick of a finger. Today's soldier uses a full-auto or 3 shot burst rifle just as capable of doing the same thing: killing at long range with just a flick of a finger. Thanks to FDR, US citizens face paperwork and fees to buy such weapons, and are completely forbidden to purchase auto rifles built after, I believe, the mid-1980s, and that was thanks to Reagan. (I have no idea why.) Semi-autos, though, are legal and take the same ammo, magazines, and most of the same parts.

The legally owned machine guns in private hands are used to destroy various targets at get-togethers with other gun owners. Criminals, on the other hand, have been known to alter rifles to fire full-auto. Heck, anyone doing so is, by definition, a criminal! Which leads me to this important point: In the end, it's the person behind the gun that counts, the same way it's the person behind the knife, sword, club, rock, fist, or open-handed strike. Or the steering wheel.

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And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

[–] SuperDevilDoctor 10 years ago

I saw that episode. Since when was Sidney Clute's character disheveled, unshaven, drunk, or inarticulate? He was a veteran, even. He spoke clearly...

^^ This, absolutely. The character is not a bum. He's presented as a middle-aged, working class/Joe Six-pack sort of fella.

I love how Friday and Gannon shoot down the man's ridiculous assertions that he needs a gun because the U.S. might be invaded by a foreign, occupying army.

It goes unspoken between the two cops, but there's a definite "Can you believe this crap?" and/or "Yep, it's another one of those gun nuts" vibe passed between them.

Send her to the snakes!

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

"And if someone commits a crime with a firearm either execute them or throw them in a hole and throw away the key!"

Why not base it on the crime and not the tool used to commit it?

"Just wanting a weapon like that shows your up to no good."

You must not know many gun owners. There's a lot more of these weapons out there than you know and most of them are in responsible, law-abiding hands. The fact there there are tens of millions of them in the United States but only a handful of heavily reported incidents in a years time is proof of how little they're a threat compared to the kinds of stick-up kids who favor small caliber, easily concealed weapons.

And just as another note; cop-killer bullets is a term made up by the anti-gun crowd. The ammunition itself isn't really what you'd want to use if your intended victim was likely using a bullet-proof vest.

[–] johnk-314 8 years ago

I hopped into my "wayback" machine to get a bit of perspective on that era I lived in once. Thinking back, I have to blame the "atmosphere" of the 1960s for some of that anti-gun bias that shows up on the series.

Season 1 was filming less than 3 years after the assassination of JFK totally rocked the country. Many people still were in denial months or years later. Season 3 was being filmed when the nation was further stunned and rocked by the assassination of both presidential candidate Bobby Kennedy (JFK's brother), and Martin Luther King, Jr. just a few months apart in 1968. All three of these men were killed by people who many said should not have been able to have guns, etc.

So the nation had to deal with a lot of issues in the late 1960s related to guns and should ordinary people be able to have them. I think that we sometimes forget how stunned the nation was by the end of that decade by all of this, and how those events even changed how we students in school looked at guns and the second amendment. Further, the anti-war protests also had an effect on the nation's atmosphere and view of guns (and their tie to war by many). The Vietnam war turned many of my friends then into pacifists, and they typically shun guns I would guess. Did all of this affect Dragnet's view of individual gun ownership? Don't know for sure, but I do remember there was much discussion with my friends on how to stop all these icons from being victims of assassination, and guns did play a part in those discussions then.