Guns For Freedom
By: Michael Caffrey
Basic human rights have always been defined as simple things – life, liberty, property and the pursuit of happiness. However, none of these four principles are possible without one other key element: the ability and willingness to defend oneself. In today’s day and age, defending oneself becomes possible only through the possession and use of a firearm, in one of its forms. Contemporary complacency has sidelined the role of firearms in maintaining these rights. However, firearms are necessary in reclaiming them.
Although contemporary culture is kept in line through the rule of law, and by extension the government, what keeps the government in check? Thomas Jefferson has been quoted as saying “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” Someday, this tree may need to be watered. At that point, the defense of house and home, the usurpation of a dictatorship to renew a democracy will require both the will of the people and the firearms in peoples’ possession.
In a world without firearms, governmental tyranny will be allowed to continue ad infinitum, because the opinions of the masses will be silenced by the opinions of the men with guns. Turning to contemporary examples of places such as China or Tibet, the oppression of the proletariat by the ruling classes eliminates the right to life, liberty, property and happiness by constraining opportunities for advancement and speaking out. By limiting the access to firearms, it becomes possible for those in power to oppress those without power.
The concept of life, liberty and property as essential human rights is derived from the Declaration of Independence, a document penned by Thomas Jefferson, but solidified by the blood of the patriots who desired freedom above all else, even their lives. The time will come again when liberty must triumph over tyranny, where freedom overthrows a dictatorship. When that day comes, Americans must be willing to stand up for what they believe in, and they must also to have the tools at hand to become a new wave of minutemen, responding to the crisis of the modern age at a moment’s notice to defend the liberty of those that have none.
Provisions restricting the possession of firearms can be categorized into three broad areas; age-related, location-based, and firearm-based. Each of these areas constitutes a grave threat to the safety of our nation and the people within it, and the relevant legislation must be revised to allow Americans to secure their rights.
The first of these areas, age-related firearm legislation makes sense only in the most absolute of vacuums. Enabling gun ownership allows the youth of our nation to protect themselves and their property. While anti-gun advocates will insist that prohibiting gun ownership among youth is a protectionist measure that saves lives, people will always have the means to kill others. Access to firearms may expedite the process, but weighing that against the benefits of gun ownership clearly shows society better off with firearms than without. Furthermore, the current set of laws is ineffective; it is illegal to buy handgun ammunition when you are under the age of 21. However, you are allowed to buy long gun ammunition, even if it is an identical cartridge.
The second of these groups, location-based prohibitions constitute the most dangerous and egregious firearm-related laws. The most well-known of these laws is the 1990 Gun-Free School Zones Act. The Act prohibits the possession of firearms within 1000 feet of a school. Despite the best intentions of lawmakers in safeguarding our youth, the Gun-Free School Zones Act simply enables people that seek to do harm to do so without restraint. When incidents like the 1999 Columbine High School Massacre occur, the perpetrators do not obey the rule of law; rather, they violate federal statutes by bringing firearms into an educational institution. The shooters at Columbine were then able to shoot without regard for personal harm; as the Federal government had stripped their classmates and teachers of the ability to shoot back. An even more extreme example of a gun-free zone massacre took place in a mall in Omaha, Nebraska in December of 2007[MJC1] , where eight people were murdered and five more were wounded. The mall had a prohibition on concealed carry of firearms, meaning that outside of the uniformed mall security, the shooter was the only person with a firearm. This incident is more notable because the shooter was not stopped by mall security, but an off-duty police officer who was in the mall and broke the law by keeping his gun on him.
Firearm based provisions are the final facet of legislation on the subject. Current federal law bans outright many of the most terrifying weapons available in this world. However, as preposterous of a notion as it seems, legalization of all firearms, whether they are fully-automatic assault rifles, machine guns, or one of the other prohibitively restricted firearms under current federal statutes is necessary for supporting democracy in our country. Although the current single-shot and semi-automatic weapons commonplace among American homes have the potential to aid in usurpation of an overbearing government, fully automatic weaponry will allow Americans to truly secure the blessings of liberty for themselves and their posterity.
The minutemen of Lexington and Concord started a noble tradition of usurpation of an unfair government; a tradition only made possible by the climate surrounding guns in Colonial America. In our current political climate, grave threats to our freedoms have been orchestrated under the notion of “security.” When the day comes, Americans must be able to have the ability to take control of their own government once again.
[MJC1]http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,315563,00.html
