He asked me to tell him my thoughts on (#1) Guns, and (#2) Gun Control. This is what I said.
My feeling on guns? And then, my feelings on Gun Control? Two completely different issues, I must say.
The FIRST is answered really, really simply. I wish that we had never developed the technology. I regret that we have the ability to kill, beyond what is useful for a man to use to feed his family. I have kids, and I like them a great deal. It scares me that weirdoes can reach out and “touch” them with deadly force, without ever drawing near enough that my beloved would recognize the danger.
The SECOND issue you asked me to discuss is Gun Control. The Right to keep and bear arms, as set forth in the Second Amendment to the Constitution of these United States, and my opinion about that Right, are founded on the events that took place during the aftermath of the Scottish rebellion against English Tyranny, in 1745. To understand why our Bill of Rights in its entirety, and the Second Amendment in particular, must be held to be SACROSANCT, and free from erosion by the very agency, (the Federal Government) it was designed to protect us from in the event of Governmental Abuse, Oppression and Overreaching, a quick review of our history is necessary.
The Scottish rebellion ended in an overwhelming Scottish defeat by the English, on Drummossie Moor, near Inverness, Scotland, in 1745. This defeat ushered in a period of Governmental oppression, crime and abuse that shaped the events that followed, up to and including the drafting of our Bill of Rights.
As soon as the Scots were defeated in 1745, the English Government (King George, III) enacted laws to deny the Scots, as a people, the right to possess arms, particularly firearms. They were also prohibited to wear their traditional clothing, or to publish, or even speak, “treasonous” remarks. What was “treasonous?” You guessed it: anything that expressed dissatisfaction with the King. (You know, the Government.)
These prohibitions were a means of controlling the Scots, preventing another violent uprising, and preventing any armed resistance to the English troops which patrolled the Scottish Highlands at that time. The troops, English Dragoons, were there to “Keep the King’s Peace.” (“Peace-keeping.? Sounds familiar somehow…)
The more important effect of the bans, from the perspective of our own Constitutional history, is that these bans were intended to, and did, to an extent, rob the Scots of their sense of themselves as Scotsmen, as warriors, as clansmen, as a People, and at the most basic level, to take from them their sense of themselves as men, period.
The bans were enforced against all Scots, without regard for their individual loyalties. Imagined “violations” of the King’s law were punished summarily by English Dragoons, who murdered, raped, ransacked and burned, in the name of the King, and of justice.
Those convicted as Scottish criminals, “Jacobites,” who had fought against England, were transported in large numbers to the Colonies (that’s what we think of as the U.S. these days) to serve as bondsmen (men bound to serve without wages, virtual slaves, for a given time period) over the following decades. North Carolina, in particular, was, as I understand it, a primarily Scots colony in the mid to late 1700s.
These men, having served the terms of their bonds, and already well-familiar with oppression, government overreaching, and murder in the name of the King, were prominent among those who eventually sought revolution. It is not surprising that they adamantly insisted upon the institution of Basic Rights to be held by ALL citizens*. And, given their horrific treatment at the hands of the English Government, both before and after the rising of 1745, it was inevitable that certain rights (protections against Government oppression, injustice, criminal acts, etc.) were foremost on their minds.
*(Yeah, I realize that to the Founders, “all” citizens meant citizens who were white men, who owned stuff. But, when you consider how radical were the changes they were already seeking, they did pretty well in terms of being progressive. No one can solve all problems at once.)
These newly FREE men, who had lived through the loss of their homes, families, dignity, heritage, and liberty so recently, wanted the right to defend themselves from such a thing ever happening again. How did they intend to do that? By being able to use force of arms, even against the Government, if necessary. By being able to speak freely amongst themselves, and convince others publically, if necessary, of the danger posed by the Government. By not having to open their homes to Government Tugs (also called soldiers, when not being used to oppress the People). By forcing the Government to hold fair and public trials before punishing people for “crimes.”
These are only a few of the rights insisted upon, to protect those Founders and their posterity. (That’s us, the posterity.) But, they are the FIRST ones set forth, because those Founders MEANT that shit! It was a BIG DEAL to them, that they not be deprived of their means of defense and survival by an oppressive Government EVER AGAIN.
To the extent that we honor that Bill of Rights, and claim like-mindedness with the amazing men who crafted it, we are WRONG to chip away at the Second Amendment. Period. Yet, the erosion goes on, allowed by a people who have never YET (we’re getting there, though; just give it time) experienced true oppression, and do not know their own (our own) history. They cannot really imagine a time when we will be defenseless against the hostile standing army that, at present, we pay to “Keep the Peace.” (Remember that phrase? Seeing where this is going yet?) What is happening around us is some really, really scary stuff!
History repeats itself. It looks different each time, because the time, the technology, the nations involved, and the justifications proffered, change. But if you clear away these era-based details, and look only at the dynamic between a Government, and the People it no longer protects, but has begun to oppress, you cannot miss (I submit) what is going on, right here, right now.
Yes, I support the Second Amendment, in its entirety, without limits, conditions, or exceptions. If we want to know how quickly our own Government can turn on us, all we need to do is to talk to a Japanese American, who lived in the U.S. during WW-II. Our Government justified the imprisonment of over 110,000 AMERICAN CITIZENS, because they were of Japanese descent. Are you getting that? OUR UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT took these citizens from their homes, their jobs, their schools, their ongoing medical treatments, their home-improvement projects, their weekly golf games, their scheduled vacations, and EVERYTHING ELSE that those people had going on in their lives, and THREW THEM INTO CONCENTRATION CAMPS.
Never doubt that it will happen again, as soon as it is expedient for our Government to do it. But this time, who will be confined? Democrats? Republicans? Those of Middle-Eastern descent? Non-Christians? Anyone who speaks or writes “treasonous” things about the Government? THOSE OF YOU WHO WILL NOT SURRENDER YOUR GUNS?
There are FEMA camps already set up, waiting to receive you. The infrastructure necessary to crush rebellion is being put in place. Did you know that the military is GIVING AWAY armored vehicles to local law enforcement agencies? Modern-day Dragoons, employed to “Keep the Peace” throughout the nation? Scoff, if you like; I did. But look into it. And, for the sake of all of us, DO NOT CHUCK AWAY THE RIGHTS OUR FOREBEARS FOUGHT AN DIED TO SECURE FOR US. If you don’t want a gun, don’t get one. But, I will feel LOADS SAFER knowing that citizens nationwide, who honor our Constitution, our history, and our Rights, are armed and aware. I do not trust Government. Period. But I trust us. I trust you.
That’s what I have to say about that.
THEPVZ 