I'll probably lose some "friends" over this post, but so be it. Those who know me will attest that my time and money are diligently spent on animal rescue and wildlife conservation- I am not even close to any stereotype of a right-wing redneck. I say these things because they are the truth and need to be said, and not with any partisan motivation. As far as I am concerned, people's partisan politics amount to arguing whether you want the right or left boot on your throat for four years at a time.
I have done my best to hold my tongue on social media for several days now, in deference to my blood pressure and the fact that I doubted it would do much good to say anything, but now I am going to put it all in one place, though few will read it.
What a lot of folks don't seem to understand is that we--meaning many law-abiding armed citizens--already regret letting ourselves get talked into the horrible idea that we should create Gun Free Zones (AKA Defense-free Crime Zones) and send our children to these soft targets, hoping for the best each day. Many of us knew better, and now these children's blood is on the hands of everyone who had a hand in creating this atrocious policy.
Many refuse to learn from their mistakes and now want to "double down" in their misguided attempts to take more power from the American people, and make no mistake: political power ultimately flows from the barrel of a gun. Their hope seems to be that only "qualified" persons (meaning the government) should have "scary black weapons," even if they do not perform the self-examination to realize that outcome. They overlook the fact that criminals do not abide by these laws. The ONLY people they would therefore disarm are the law-abiding people who were not committing crimes in the first place.
While these people's naiveté may be excused by some, there is a simple fact that is being overlooked. The Constitution, Supreme Court case law, the constitutions of many states, and basic human rights are all on the side of those of us who own these rifles. We own them out of an understanding that true security--for our families, our communities, and our country--comes from citizens equipped to stand up to evil. It is ironic that these same people often rail against the current Commander-in-Chief (whom I am not endorsing) while simultaneously wanting to enact policies that would leave him (or his successors) as the sole commander of the only people with modern small arms.
You would do well to start listening to reason. Schools should become harder targets and not wave a green flag in front of every psycho wanting to make a name for themselves. Parents should learn how to raise young people who understand the value of human life. There are many things concerned individuals could constructively focus on. Trying to take effective self-defense tools away from the people that aren't committing crimes is definitely not one of them.
The vast majority of us have no intention of relinquishing our tools of defense as other societies have done. Those citizens are now completely at the mercy of their governments and criminals. We will not stand for further bans. We have given too much ground already, and all it has done is make things worse. If you want them- you will have to come and take them. Spoiler alert- we have no intention of making that easy. You may as well find a different avenue where you might be effective because the path you are on now is not going to work.
We do need to protect our children better- I am not saying give up. I am saying you need to stop wasting your time embroiled in partisan bickering and focus on things we can all agree on (meaning something besides disarmament). Please don't let more young lives be lost while you console yourself by blaming the "other guys." That has gotten us nowhere and it is inexcusable at this point.
"Americans have the right and advantage of being armed – unlike the citizens of other countries whose governments are afraid to trust the people with arms." – James Madison
"The best we can hope for concerning the people at large is that they be properly armed." – Alexander Hamilton
"The Constitution shall never be construed … to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms." – Samuel Adams
"Today, we need a nation of Minutemen, citizens who are not only prepared to take arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as the basic purpose of their daily life and who are willing to consciously work and sacrifice for that freedom." – John F. Kennedy
"After a shooting spree, they always want to take the guns away from the people who didn't do it. I sure as hell wouldn't want to live in a society where the only people allowed guns are the police and the military." – William S. Burroughs
"Armed people are free. No state can control those who have the machinery and the will to resist, no mob can take their liberty and property. And no 220-pound thug can threaten the well-being or dignity of a 110-pound woman who has two pounds of iron to even things out … People who object to weapons aren't abolishing violence, they're begging for rule by brute force, when the biggest, strongest animals among men were always automatically right. Guns ended that, and a social democracy is a hollow farce without an armed populace to make it work." – L. Neil Smith
"The police can't stop an intruder, mugger, or stalker from hurting you. They can pursue him only after he has hurt or killed you. Protecting yourself from harm is your responsibility, and you are far less likely to be hurt in a neighborhood of gun owners than in one of disarmed citizens – even if you don't own a gun yourself." – Harry Browne
Gun control? It's the best thing you can do for crooks and gangsters. I want you to have nothing. If I'm a bad guy, I'm always gonna have a gun. Safety locks? You will pull the trigger with a lock on, and I'll pull the trigger. We'll see who wins. – Sammy "The Bull" Gravano, whose testimony convicted John Gotti
"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them." – Richard Henry Lee 1788
"Try to halt violence by restricting gun ownership and you won't halt violence. But you will create entire classes of new criminals – people who make paperwork errors, violate technical specification of the law, or rebel against the new restrictions. And you'll create new bureaus, new enforcement arms, new prisons to punish them. You'll make hordes of lawyers and bureaucrats very happy. Organized criminals will be grateful to the naive moral crusaders ("useful idiots") as they profit by selling an illegal product. And ordinary street criminals will bless fools, legislators, and "leaders" for making their job so much safer." – Jews For the Preservation of Firearm Ownership's "Bill of Rights Sentinel"
"Laws that forbid the carrying of arms... disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes... Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man." - Thomas Jefferson's "Commonplace Book"
"The constitutions of most of our States assert that all power is inherent in the people; that... it is their right and duty to be at all times armed." --Thomas Jefferson
"We should not forget that the spark which ignited the American Revolution was caused by the British attempt to confiscate the firearms of the colonists." - Patrick Henry
Post entirely written and curated by Micha Petty
To learn more about personal liberty please visit http://www.americanrevival.org/