Quote Originally Posted by a completely inoffensive name View Post
Gun ownership has nothing to do with militarization of police. That's pure ignorance. Militarization of police stems from excess military hardware being produced by military contractors that need new buyers now that the US has gradually de-escalated our wars in iraq and afghanistan.
It's probably one factor. Being a cop in the US is more dangerous than in western Europe.

The gun fetish attitude in quite a bit of police recruitment videos, with military gear, does give the impression of the police embracing a violent attitude and that your point has more influence.