A Small Step in the Right Direction
by Mark Luedtke
The Founding Fathers understood human nature and how government perverted human nature to the detriment of the people in general. The anti-Federalists understood that the Federalists had pulled a fast one on the people when they created the Constitution. They understood that the Constitution would enable the federal government to grow and seize control of all aspects of life in America. They created the Bill of Rights in an attempt to keep that from happening. It wasn’t enough.
It’s a fact of life that security is an inherently personal matter. Predators don’t attack when a policeman is standing close by. They don’t attack when you have a bunch of friends who outnumber them. They don’t attack when you’re strong and they’re weak. Predators attack when they think they have the upper hand, generally when you’re alone or with your family and they outnumber you. The Founding Fathers understood this, and they immortalized their wisdom for dealing with predators, those in the government and out, in the Second Amendment. “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” They were telling us the only way we could truly be secure is if we provided our own security. I bet every murder victim comes to that harsh realization right before they die.
Right about now many readers are thinking I’m crazy for wanting to go back to the wild west. But the wild west is a fantasy created by novelists and movie makers. The reality is the west was a remarkably peaceful place. According to historian W. Eugene Hollon, “the Western frontier was a far more civilized, more peaceful, and safer place than American society is today.” Voluntary associations of people worked together to provide security, making it one of the most peaceful periods in American history. The biggest cattle towns, typically portrayed as lawless by Hollywood, were arguably the safest cities in the US. Until government took over. The shootout at the OK Corral was sparked by a local gun ban. But nobody wants to watch movies of hardworking people farming, ranching, mining and trading in the peaceful west.
Authoritarians have so perverted American society that we have no knowledge of what a peaceful society is like. Instead we’ve surrendered responsibility for protecting ourselves to government agents, and many locales have given government agents a monopoly on carrying weapons in clear violation of the Second Amendment with catastrophic consequences. Whether it be the mass murder in Luby’s in Texas, the one at Virginia Tech or dozens of others, disarmed Americans have proven easy prey for predators.
But other predators strike far more frequently. A SWAT team in Tuscon recently gunned down Marine veteran Jose Guerena in his home then forbade paramedics to treat him while he bled to death. Last year a police officer in Seattle shot a man in the street from behind. Government agents commit legal murder like this so often that we don’t hear about it because it’s not newsworthy. Worse, a cop is more likely than a member of the general population to illegally murder or sexually assault you. That’s because the violent nature of government attracts the most violent people to work for it. Where else can a thug get his jollies kicking in doors and shooting people with impunity? We’ve turned control of the asylum over to the inmates, and we’re reaping the whirlwind as a result.
The old saying that an armed society is a polite society is true because thugs are afraid to meet armed resistance. Everywhere gun laws have been liberalized in the US, crime has gone down. So after Governor Kasich signs a law that will allow Ohioans with concealed carry permits to carry into establishments that sell alcohol, Ohio will become a safer place. Ohio will join other states including Tennessee, Arizona, Georgia and Virginia taking this small step toward greater freedom, security and constitutional government. We know those states haven’t suffered violence associated with similar laws because the press would have covered any single violent incident like it was the end of the world. Ubiquitous, institutionalized violence by government agents isn’t worthy of coverage, but that would be.
This is also a victory for property rights. Business owners will be allowed to decide if they want to allow firearms in their establishments or not. I’m overwhelmed with the government’s generosity in allowing property owners to make their own decisions regarding their properties, but I’m not holding my breath waiting for government to lift the smoking ban.
But Ohio’s march in the right direction on gun laws continues. Another bill in the Ohio House would allow Ohioans with concealed carry permits to carry in churches, colleges, day care centers and government buildings. With Republicans in control of both houses and the governor’s office, this bill has a decent chance of passing.
We’re losing our rights and prosperity so fast that it’s especially sweet to celebrate the small victories that advance freedom and the security and prosperity that always flow from freedom.
by Mark Luedtke
The Founding Fathers understood human nature and how government perverted human nature to the detriment of the people in general. The anti-Federalists understood that the Federalists had pulled a fast one on the people when they created the Constitution. They understood that the Constitution would enable the federal government to grow and seize control of all aspects of life in America. They created the Bill of Rights in an attempt to keep that from happening. It wasn’t enough.
It’s a fact of life that security is an inherently personal matter. Predators don’t attack when a policeman is standing close by. They don’t attack when you have a bunch of friends who outnumber them. They don’t attack when you’re strong and they’re weak. Predators attack when they think they have the upper hand, generally when you’re alone or with your family and they outnumber you. The Founding Fathers understood this, and they immortalized their wisdom for dealing with predators, those in the government and out, in the Second Amendment. “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” They were telling us the only way we could truly be secure is if we provided our own security. I bet every murder victim comes to that harsh realization right before they die.
Right about now many readers are thinking I’m crazy for wanting to go back to the wild west. But the wild west is a fantasy created by novelists and movie makers. The reality is the west was a remarkably peaceful place. According to historian W. Eugene Hollon, “the Western frontier was a far more civilized, more peaceful, and safer place than American society is today.” Voluntary associations of people worked together to provide security, making it one of the most peaceful periods in American history. The biggest cattle towns, typically portrayed as lawless by Hollywood, were arguably the safest cities in the US. Until government took over. The shootout at the OK Corral was sparked by a local gun ban. But nobody wants to watch movies of hardworking people farming, ranching, mining and trading in the peaceful west.
Authoritarians have so perverted American society that we have no knowledge of what a peaceful society is like. Instead we’ve surrendered responsibility for protecting ourselves to government agents, and many locales have given government agents a monopoly on carrying weapons in clear violation of the Second Amendment with catastrophic consequences. Whether it be the mass murder in Luby’s in Texas, the one at Virginia Tech or dozens of others, disarmed Americans have proven easy prey for predators.
But other predators strike far more frequently. A SWAT team in Tuscon recently gunned down Marine veteran Jose Guerena in his home then forbade paramedics to treat him while he bled to death. Last year a police officer in Seattle shot a man in the street from behind. Government agents commit legal murder like this so often that we don’t hear about it because it’s not newsworthy. Worse, a cop is more likely than a member of the general population to illegally murder or sexually assault you. That’s because the violent nature of government attracts the most violent people to work for it. Where else can a thug get his jollies kicking in doors and shooting people with impunity? We’ve turned control of the asylum over to the inmates, and we’re reaping the whirlwind as a result.
The old saying that an armed society is a polite society is true because thugs are afraid to meet armed resistance. Everywhere gun laws have been liberalized in the US, crime has gone down. So after Governor Kasich signs a law that will allow Ohioans with concealed carry permits to carry into establishments that sell alcohol, Ohio will become a safer place. Ohio will join other states including Tennessee, Arizona, Georgia and Virginia taking this small step toward greater freedom, security and constitutional government. We know those states haven’t suffered violence associated with similar laws because the press would have covered any single violent incident like it was the end of the world. Ubiquitous, institutionalized violence by government agents isn’t worthy of coverage, but that would be.
This is also a victory for property rights. Business owners will be allowed to decide if they want to allow firearms in their establishments or not. I’m overwhelmed with the government’s generosity in allowing property owners to make their own decisions regarding their properties, but I’m not holding my breath waiting for government to lift the smoking ban.
But Ohio’s march in the right direction on gun laws continues. Another bill in the Ohio House would allow Ohioans with concealed carry permits to carry in churches, colleges, day care centers and government buildings. With Republicans in control of both houses and the governor’s office, this bill has a decent chance of passing.
We’re losing our rights and prosperity so fast that it’s especially sweet to celebrate the small victories that advance freedom and the security and prosperity that always flow from freedom.
+1 Good article.
ReplyDelete"but I’m not holding my breath waiting for government to lift the smoking ban"
Insurance companies always get what they want. PA recently got rid of the helmet laws for motorcycles, not because of freedom or personal responsibility, but because a dead rider is cheaper for the insurance company than a paralyzed one.