[...]
Furthermore, we live in what is called an “agency state.” Loosely
written laws give government bureaucrats the power to set rules and
regulations that have the effect of law. We've seen government
departments like the EPA, staffed by environmental radicals, running
amok with their regulatory power. Probably no federal government agency
is innocent of bureaucratic overreach, some more than others, which is
why the country is choking on 'laws,' many of which people neither know
of nor can understand.
What
would Europe look like if it had a Second Amendment? Would the people
in the various countries of the EU have lost their national
characteristics and rights to make their own laws to unelected
bureaucrats in Brussels?
What does this have to do with the 2nd Amendment and gun ownership?
Simple. Most office-bound bureaucrats, left-wing judges, and government
elites are not exactly prime examples of virile American manhood. Quite
the opposite. When you think of this government class, which is
predominately male, a picture of a feminized metrosexual springs to
mind, especially the higher up you go in the hierarchy.
This point is this. In the back of their minds, even if it is buried at
a subconscious level, these people fear an armed citizenry. An armed
citizenry puts a check on how far and how fast the government class
dares to push its progressive agenda by unconstitutional means. True,
the 2nd Amendment by itself has not completely stopped the
unconstitutional drift to the left, but one has to believe it has
prevent what could have been from being what is.
Without the check of a 2nd Amendment, how bold would those who hold
government power would be? Some real possibilities: Perhaps home
schooling would be illegal; many aspects of political correctness might
be weaponized by bureaucratic 'law'; unapproved speech might be
criminalized; racial quotas might be more prevalent; web sites like the
American Thinker, Drudge, etc. could be curtailed and talk radio
muffled.
Read
more:
Even the NRA doesn't "get" the 2nd Amendment. Every time I get one of their "surveys" (in which, under the guise of seeking my opinion, they beseech me for still more money), it gives multiple choices as to why one chooses to own firearms, e.g., "Hunting", "Target Practice", "Home/Personal Defense", "Collecting", "Shooting Sports". Conspicuous in their absence are the choices "To Deter Tyranny" or "Because it is my Duty and Responsibility as an American Citizen to Keep (and Be Competent With) Firearms".
ReplyDeleteI left the NRA when I realized two things: they only wanted my money, not my opinion, and their membership and survey databases were vulnerable to government or hacker intrusion. I never trusted who in their offices might see my information, but I know they can't keep it away from a determined threat.
ReplyDeleteThe Right to Keep and Bear Arms is as important to me as the religion in my church. No one can take my G*d from me, or my guns.
'Funny you should say that, Murphy, because I always wonder if I'm being sacrilegious or blasphemous when I say that I revere The Bill of Rights as much as I do The Ten Commandments. But Hey, truth be told, I put The Cowboy Code up there, too.
ReplyDeleteMurphy, you must realize that the NRA is first and foremost a fund-raising organization. And they fundraise for the benefit of the front office. They promote the target shooters, then the fudds, and occasionally throw a bone to the CCW'ers. They've helped craft and pass more bad gun legislation than Diane Feinstein ever dreamed of. They lost me forever when they endorsed Harry Reid in his last run over a viable Republican contender because they were afraid of "Majority Leader Chuck Schumer".
ReplyDeleteI'm a Patron (Life) Member of the NRA, yet I agree with much of what's said above. Does the NRA bend over to "cooperate" with tyrants? Yes. Is the outfit a 24/7/365 fundraising organization? Yes again.
ReplyDeleteHave they allowed, even helped, extremely bad legislation to be passed, such as the 1934 Gun Control Act, the 1938 GCA, 1968 GCA (yes, even Ronald Reagan had flaws,) the formation of the ATF in 1972, the 1990 Crime Control Act, the 1994 Brady and Assault Weapons Ban, and many others? Yes again. So much for "shall not be infringed," and it looks very very bad for the NRA.
But I try to see the question as "how bad would these laws have been, WITHOUT the NRA?" That's unfalsifiable, so there's no way of knowing the answer- but I strongly feel that these laws would have been a lot worse, enforcement would be a lot stronger, and we'd now be where Australia is. The Aussies didn't have anything like the NRA, and ask any "ex-" gun owner there whether they'd like to have had such an organization. It's too late now, they trusted their government to do the right thing and got screwed.
Often I wonder what our gun control laws would be like, if the NRA had even 20% of gun owners willing to join. Right now there's only 5 million or so members, trying to hold back the tide. It's a lot easier to keep your money in your pocket, stay home & watch TV, and bitch about an imperfect outfit that at least tries to do something. I'm voting for NRA Board Members this month, since I'm a Life Member; I'll try to pick people who will try to remove these abominable laws. It'd sure be nice to have some help- or better people to vote for, which might be one of you!
But maybe you're all right. Maybe there's no strength in unity, and we should just go our own separate ways & fight our own separate fights. E Unibus Plurum? All for one, and one for... himself? Somehow it doesn't sound like a winning strategy, but suit yourself!
I'm an NRA Endowment Member. Somehow NRA found out I'm well endowed.
ReplyDeleteWithout the 2nd, Barak Obama would still be President For Life.
ReplyDeleteYou know thats true.