Trust

"Gun Bigotry"

The Geek with a .45 refers to gun control advocates as "the forces of organized gun bigotry." Here are a few examples this week, taken from The Virginia Citizens' Defense League online alert list, VA-ALERT. It's an interesting email list if you're interested in that sort of thing -- particularly for Virginia citizens, but also for people interested in the issue nationwide.

In Illinois, one of the last states that essentially forbids the practice of Second Amendment rights, there is a debate about whether yet another gun control law may be wanted. The question is not whether purchasers of guns should have their names put on a list kept by the state -- everyone seems to think that they should. The question is whether the list should be kept for 90 days, to give the state time to do whatever investigations it may feel necessary, or forever.

"We are in an arena of compromise," says one of the 90-day advocates, state Senator Peter Roskam. Here is what he's compromising with:

- Fellow Senator Don Harmon asked him to explain why he was supporting "a gang-banger initiative."

- The Chicago Tribune stated that Roskam was "a tool of the NRA in its fight to weaken gun laws."

- Senator Kwame Raoul asked why, since sex offenders' names are kept on record, gun purchasers' names should not be?

Ah, yes. Compromise. My side wants people to be free to exercise their Constitutional rights without being put on a list of undesirables; your side thinks gun purchasers are moral equals of rapists and child molesters, and that the NRA is secretly in league with gang-bangers in a fight to undermine protections for law-abiding citizens.

The rhetoric is similar in the District of Columbia. There, as in Illinois, the notion isn't that anyone might be allowed to carry a firearm. However, it is suggested that people might be allowed to keep one in their home, to defend themselves at least in their own bedrooms.

That suggestion drew this rather thoughtful critique:

- "They're trying to see to it that more children get killed," said D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat.

Yes, precisely. That's why married couples with children are more likely to vote for conservatives than any other group of people. We want to see more children get killed.

Meanwhile, you probably saw the story on Alphecca that San Diego feels that off-duty police officers should not carry firearms, as it would make their festival unsafe.

Well, maybe it would. A badge doesn't except you from the rules of gun safety, because those are based on the law of physics.

I suppose the overall moral is, "Don't trust the government." I always feel odd saying that, being a completely committed defender of the Republic and its Constitution. Nevertheless, it's true -- the government, its politicians and its bureaucrats can't be trusted to protect your interests. You have to be ready to stand up, and speak up, to them.

Even if they're SWAT team officers.

A citizen's duty is real. We aren't going to keep this country on the right path if we don't consecrate ourselves to doing it.