Glenn Reynolds points out that Montgomery County will be using the tens of thousands of tips that came in during the sniper ordeal to crack down on illegal firearm posession. And this is apparently a bad thing. Says Reynolds:

This is sure to produce less cooperation in the future. And it explains why so many gun owners don’t trust the authorities: They’ve seen things used as excuses for anti-gun sweeps in the past. […] This is just pathetic. How stupid do you have to be to do this kind of stuff? Not too stupid to have a management position at the FBI or ATF, apparently.

And one must logically ask, wha??? First off, the tipsters are not being targeted, only the people who they snitched on. Secondly, is Reynolds defending owners of illegal firearms, or unregistered ones? Gun advocates should be the first to champion upholding gun laws, especially if they hope to make a credible case to those undecided (or uneducated) about gun control legislation. Third, if this turn of events does lead to less cooperation in the future from tipsters, I’d bet that the only tipsters who won’t be responding are those who see second-ammendment concerns under every stone, the same ones who wouldn’t trust the police in the first place. (In addition to the many other segments of society who don’t trust the police, but that is another issue…) If you don’t like the gun laws thats one thing. But if you believe in American democracy, you should also agree that those who break the law must face the consequences.

So explain to me again how this effort is pathetic and stupid?