Some of country music’s biggest and brightest stars have come together to help raise money and awareness for the Las Vegas-based national law enforcement organization The Wounded Blue, which helps improve the lives of injured and disabled officers. George Strait, Miranda Lambert, Reba McEntire, Kid Rock, Toby Keith, Blake Shelton, Dierks Bentley, Chris Young, Jamey Johnson, The Oak Ridge Boys, Aaron Lewis,
and more have all taken the time to autograph multiple Epiphone acoustic guitars for this fundraising effort. Fans, corporate partners, or anyone supporting law enforcement can purchase any of these signed guitars for $1,000 each by going to guitars4cops.com. Each purchase is tax-deductible as allowed by law, as The Wounded Blue is a 501c3 organization.
The law enforcement profession has always been inherently dangerous in terms of physical safety, but the current climate in terms of violence, anti-law enforcement rhetoric, agenda-driven politicians, and societal issues has created a far more dangerous environment for America’s police.
“I feel that, as an entertainer, I am fortunate to be surrounded by great people that wear a badge and protect us, allowing me to travel and perform without being in fear on a daily basis,” says Richard Sterban of The Oak Ridge Boys. “We can’t do enough for those that risk their lives to protect and serve. If signing a few guitars to help raise money is what I need to do, then that is and was the easiest part of my day.”
Recognizing that approximately 50,000 American law enforcement officers are assaulted every year in the United States, with even more injured in traffic accidents, training accidents, and other assorted misfortunes while on duty, it was clear that help was needed. Additionally, many more are affected by PTSI (Post Traumatic Stress Injury). The term PTSI as opposed to PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) is used because the condition is often treatable to the point of it NOT becoming a “disorder,” but in many cases it, too, becomes an incapacitating injury. Most Americans seem to assume that in the event of sustaining on-duty injuries, law enforcement agencies and the local, county, and state governments that employ them would be responsible for taking care of them financially, medically, and psychologically, as these injuries are incurred while serving the people they swore to protect. Unfortunately, the reality is often quite different. Officers who are hurt often lose a major portion of their salaries during their healing process (if the injuries are only temporarily disabling) and also often lose the ability to earn enough to feed their families.
All of this has led to Randy Sutton’s creation of The Wounded Blue. The Wounded Blue Mission: To improve the lives of injured and disabled law enforcement officers through support, education, assistance, and legislation. The Wounded Blue was founded to help injured law enforcement build and administer an Emergency Financial Aid Fund, create a system of effective and caring peer support, be a resource for competent and effective legal counsel, and advocate for stronger laws and protection for the American law enforcement officer, all while remaining an advocate for the positive public perception of law enforcement.
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