What Is the Goal for Gun Grabbers?

 The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday concerns the Second Amendment – also known as the right to keep and bear arms. Every single time that some idiot decides to commit mass murder, the gun-control crowd goes wild. It happened again this week.

Some idiot committed mass murder when he killed 18 people in Maine on Wednesday. Just like clockwork, Vice President Kamala Harris praised the Australian gun bans on Thursday when speaking with the Australian prime minister, according to Sara Garstka at The Daily Signal. 

“Gun violence has terrorized and traumatized so many of our communities in this country,” Harris said Thursday afternoon at the event with Australian leader Anthony Albanese. “And let us be clear, it does not have to be this way, as our friends in Australia have demonstrated.”

The vice president was referring to a series of gun-buyback programs in the commonwealth of Australia. The regulations followed a 1996 firearms massacre in Tasmania in which 35 people died and began with the National Firearms Agreement of 1996, which declared semiautomatic weapons illegal and prompted the surrender of close to 650,000 firearms. Since then, the Pacific Rim nation has tightly restricted gun ownership and continued to buy back legally owned guns and confiscate illegally owned firearms. But the measures have not been very effective at reducing the number of legally held firearms in the nation.

While the past 27 years of gun restrictions in Australia have decreased the number of gun-owning households by half, as of 2016, the number of firearms per licensed owner had increased from 2.1 to 3.9.

In 2017, there were an estimated 3.6 million firearms in Australia, compared with 3.2 million in 1996, the year of the mass killings in Tasmania, the Sydney Morning Herald reported in 2019. The newspaper noted that in 1997, after then-Prime Minister John Howard’s initial buyback of guns, there were an estimated 2.5 million firearms in the country.

Australia has established that bearing arms is a privilege and not a right. Today, Australian gun laws do not even include self-defense as a “justifiable reason” for owning a firearm. “It is a false choice to suggest we must choose between either upholding the Second Amendment or passing reasonable gun-safety laws to save lives,” Harris said in a written statement about the Maine shootings. “Congress can and must make background checks universal. Pass red flag laws. Ban high-capacity magazines. And renew the assault weapons ban.”

The Biden administration has been working to advance Second Amendment restrictions in the United States, establishing in September the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, which Harris oversees. The office will push to “enact universal background checks and ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines,” the vice president said in a statement about the initiative.

Democrats and other leftists want to take guns away from law-abiding citizens. One of their tactics is to claim that guns take the most American lives each year. However, they never mention the 500,000 to 3 million American lives that are saved each year by guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens. In addition, they never mention the 2363 unborn American babies killed every single day through abortion, adding up to 860,000 deaths of unborn American babies every single year. [Figures are from Garstka.]

So, abortions kill more Americans than guns every single year. It seems that saving American lives is not the purpose for gun control advocates. Therefore, the demand for gun control is simply a way to gain control of the citizenry, just like all tyrants.

Agenda vs. Morality

            Why are liberals so determined to pass gun control? They claim that the United States needs more gun control laws in order to protect the students in our schools. They do not remember or cannot understand that guns were on school campuses for many years before anyone thought to shoot at the students. It just does not make sense to pass more gun control laws when the laws already on the books do not work. There must be something else that is causing the massacres at the schools.

            Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University. He is also a man with common sense. He recently posted an article entitled “Hidden Agenda or Ignorance?” here. Williams shares the following statistics. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that there are 30 Americans who die every day in car crashes involving drunk driving. The FBI’s 2015 Uniform Crime Report says that knives (1,573) of some kind kill three times more people than shotguns and rifles combined (548). Why are there no calls to control cars or knives?

Any mature and reasonable person would argue that it is utter nonsense to deal with drunk driving deaths and knife deaths by having federal background checks and waiting periods to obtain a driver’s license or to purchase a car or knife. One would recognize, just as courts and the general public do, that cars and knives are inanimate objects and cannot act on their own. Therefore, if we want to do something about deaths resulting from drunk driving or being stabbed or hacked to death, we must focus on individuals. It would be folly and gross negligence of victims for us to focus on inanimate objects like cars and knives. Guns are also inanimate objects and like cars and knives cannot act on their own. It’s also plain folly to focus on guns in the cases of shooting deaths. …

We must own up to the fact that laws and regulations alone cannot produce a civilized society. Morality is society’s first line of defense against uncivilized behavior. Moral standards of conduct have been under siege in our country for over a half a century. Moral absolutes have been abandoned as guiding principles. We’ve been taught not to be judgmental, that one lifestyle or set of values is just as good as another. We no longer hold people accountable for their behavior and we accept excuse-making. Problems of murder, mayhem and other forms of anti-social behavior will continue until we regain our moral footing.

            The title of Williams’ article is “Hidden Agenda or Ignorance?” He is nice enough to put it as a question, but I am willing to say that it is a hidden agenda to disarm American citizens. I do not believe that anyone could be so ignorant as to believe that guns can kill on their own. Having been around guns for my entire life, I can state unequivocally that guns do not get up by themselves and shoot people! Guns are inanimate objects just like cars and knives. None of them can do anything without the help of a human being.

            We must stop blaming guns for the lack of moral standards in our nation. Parents are the first line of defense and teaching. They must become parents instead of friends for their children. Once they have completed their job of teaching and training their children to become a responsible part of society, then they can be friends with their adult children. It is wonderful to be able to consider your children as some as your best friends. We must also bring moral standards of behavior back into our society. We must stand on our principles and declare that there is both good and evil in the world. We must hold children, teens, and adults responsible for bad behavior and teach them to stop making excuses. In other words, we must make America great again.

Open and Honest Debates Needed

            The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday concerns the need in the United States for honest and open debates about how to solve the problems of school shootings. Every time that some idiot decides to take a gun to a school and starts shooting students, liberals start yelling for more gun control. When they cannot get anyone to listen to their shrill calls, they start name calling and other acts of disrespect.

            Conservatives are tired of the liberal tactics, and some are starting to fight back. Here is one conservative who is not afraid to tell the liberals what he thinks of their schemes. See “On FIRE: Watch this GOP Senate candidate stun Second Amendment snowflakes into recess.” 

            I hope that he gets elected to the U.S. Senate. We need more men and women who are unwilling to listen to the false arguments of the liberals and who will force them into open and honest debates about their priorities.

Control or Confiscation of Guns

            I keep seeing a post on Facebook titled “A Little Gun History” and ignored it while at the same time wondering if there was any truth to it. The post lists several countries that confiscated firearms from citizens and then murdered millions of them during the 20^th century. I decided to see if I could find the truth of the information.

            I found a report by Snopes that listed the claim as follows: “Internet list accurately cites historical facts and figures proving that the worst mass exterminations of civilian populations in the twentieth century were the result of gun control laws.”

            Snopes says this is true: “Mass killings of civilians by military dictatorships in the 1900s were more often than not preceded by the confiscation of firearms from targeted populations, a task made easier by laws requiring the registration and/or licensing of privately-owned weapons.” Since Snopes acknowledges that the claim is true, I will share the information.

In 1929, the Soviet Union established gun control. From 1929 to 1953, about 20 million dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

In 1911, Turkey established gun control. From 1915 to 1917, 1.5 million Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

Germany established gun control in 1938 and from 1939 to 1945, a total of 13 million Jews and others who were unable to defend themselves were rounded up and exterminated.

China established gun control in 1935. From 1948 to 1952, 20 million political dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

Guatemala established gun control in 1964. From 1964 to 1981, 100,000 Mayan Indians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

Uganda established gun control in 1970. From 1971 to 1979, 300,000 Christians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

Cambodia established gun control in 1956. From 1975 to 1977, one million educated people, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

Defenseless people rounded up and exterminated in the 20^th Century because of gun control: 56 million.

            Further in the article, Snopes gives more information on the above notes. There appears to be some question as to the exact number of people who were killed, but there is no doubt that the number is in the millions and that the murders came after gun confiscation.

            The only problem that Snopes seems to have with the information is the claim that “gun control” equals “gun confiscation.” “`Gun control’ isn’t synonymous with gun confiscation; in some cases where genocides took place, the gun laws in force had existed for years, even decades; evidence does not demonstrate a causal link between gun control and mass exterminations.”

            The Snopes argument seems to me to be a parsing of the words “gun control” and the length of time between the passing of the gun laws and the actual confiscation. Sometimes it did take years or decades, but other times it was only months. Snopes admits that the “confiscation of firearms” was preceded by “laws requiring the registration and/or licensing of privately-owned weapons” – which is part of “gun control” but further down the road. We all must recognize that it is easier for government agents to go from house to house collecting firearms if they have already been registered. Here is Snopes conclusion to their article.

Based on the actual evidence at hand, we find it reasonable to conclude that gun confiscations, facilitated by laws requiring the registration and/or licensing of firearms, played a crucial role in the carrying out of twentieth-century genocides. However, gun control per se – properly defined as a set of laws regulating gun ownership that can range from minimally restrictive to outright prohibitive – is neither a cause nor even a reliable predictor of mass exterminations, whereas the presence of a repressive military dictatorship most certainly is.

            Snopes agrees that gun registration and/or licensing can lead to gun confiscation, but he is not concerned about laws that merely restrict ownership. Despite the fact that mass murders followed gun confiscation in numerous countries, Snopes does not seem to fear gun control in the United States. Even though there are no laws requiring gun owners to register their guns or to have licenses to use them, I believe that there is cause for concern. I believe that the United States Government is far down the road toward having a list of all firearm owners because of required background checks for potential purchasers. A list of gun owners is the first step toward confiscating them. The information at this site about background checks should concern all gun owners.

Background checks identify individuals who are ineligible to purchase firearms and prevent those persons from obtaining them [apparently there is a list of these ineligible individuals], making them a key element in preventing tragic and unnecessary gun deaths in the United States.

Enacted in 1993, the Brady Act is a federal law that requires federally licensed firearms dealers (FFLs) to conduct background checks on potential firearm purchasers. In order to comply with the Brady Act, the FBI created the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), a centralized catalog of records comprising three separate national databases. Among other things, NICS contains information about individuals’ criminal and mental health histories and any civil orders entered against them that might affect their eligibility to purchase or possess a gun, such as domestic violence restraining orders.

            I want to believe that background checks protect us from criminals and violent people without infringing on our Second Amendment rights. I want to have faith in my government and believe that all of our laws are there to protect us. However, I do not have that faith because of events that have taken place in past years. The attack on Waco is just one example of times when the government was in the wrong. I am concerned that a government that knows the locations of all the guns might start confiscating them in an effort to control the populace. Under a law-abiding administration, there would be no problem. Under an administration that wants total control of the citizenry, there would be a huge problem. This site voices some of my fears.

Certainly however the biggest reason gun rights advocates oppose the idea of Universal Background checks is because Firearm Registration takes us one step closer to firearm confiscation. It would be nearly impossible for the government to confiscate guns without knowing who owns what guns. The easiest way to create that database is by making all transfers of firearms require a background check both because it creates the SYSTEM by which the database can be built and it creates the NEED for Firearm Registration in order to enforce the law.

While you may have been told that the Federal government doesn’t keep a database of gun buyers you have been misled. Yes, the FBI does destroy the paperwork and evidence of a background check shortly after it is performed, but the ATF requires that FFLs keep detailed paper records of every background check performed. These records must be made available to the government without notice; and should a FFL decide to close up shop the records must be turned over to the ATF. So, yes, there is a paper record of every background check performed and the government has access to it. That record includes the date, the name and address of the buyer, the make/model of the firearm, the serial number, the type of firearm, and the caliber/gauge of the firearm….

            This information tells us that the government does have ways to track the firearms that have been purchased legally since background checks have been required. If there is ever an administration in place that wants to have total control over America, the stage is set for confiscation of firearms. This is a time for Americans to be very careful. If we give up our freedoms for security, we deserve neither of them. Maybe there are other solutions.

            Kevin McCullough and his staff looked at the issue and suggested seven steps that can be taken to protect the children without touching the rights of gun owners. Their suggestions are: (1) Put metal detectors in every school. (2) Enforce every existing law. (3) Perform active shooter drills just like some schools do earthquake drills and teach the students to fight for survival.

(4) Reinforce doors, windows, buses, and locks to make them as bullet proof as possible.

(5) Recruit retired military and law enforcement personnel who already have the expertise to do the job. (6) Arm and train all appropriate personnel. (7) Publicize the consequences by every way possible, including big signs stating that armed personnel are on the campus.

            As we can see from the above list, there are several precautions that can be taken without calling for new gun laws or banning certain firearms. We must remember that it is the evil person behind the gun and not the gun itself that poses the danger. If someone wants to commit mass murder, they will find a way no matter what law is on the books. By finding common-sense solutions, we can better protect the rising generation without infringing on anyone’s rights.

Pointing the Finger at Guns

            Another mass shooting took place Sunday night in Las Vegas, NV. Right on cue – and without letting a crisis go to waste – liberals began calling for more gun control. Anyone who believes that the answer is more gun laws is not thinking straight because taking guns away from good guys will not stop the bad guys. There are solutions to the problem, but more gun control is not one of them.

            Doc substituted for Glenn Beck this week, and he listed some solutions to the gun violence problem in our nation: (1) better mental health services available to more people; (2) a freer, better economy; (3) more guns in the rights hands; (4) less government oppression, and (5) more opportunity. He suggests that we develop a society that values human life.

            Robert Laurie posted an article titled “Vegas is what happens when a nation turns its back on morality,abandons personal responsibility.” He reminds us that not too long ago, students took guns to school on the school bus. The weapons were used for marksmanship class or a shooting meet and were stored in students’ lockers during the school day. When I was a high school student, boys took their rifles to school, locked them in their vehicles during the day, and hunted deer with them on their way home. There were zero gun incidents while I was in high school. Laurie states the following.

That’s the reality of the country in which we live, and despite what late night talk show hosts, pretend Presidents, and Hollywood gun-grabbers would have you believe, it’s not about guns…. Firearms catch the blame, because it’s easy to blame tools, but the implement used in horrific attacks like the one in Las Vegas are scapegoats….

The real culprit is … all of us. We’re the denizens of a nation that, either through decisions or attrition, turned its back on its morality, abandoned the concept of personal responsibility, and embraced self-destruction in the name of convenience. We created – or allowed the creation – of the America we deserve.

Our popular culture mocks the virtuous and makes heroes of the evil. We reward our worst impulses and openly ridicule the “better angels of our nature.” One political party booed the very concept of God out of its convention. Satanic displays are given equal footing with Christmas displays and mangers. For cripes sake, Lucifer has his own TV show – and he’s the hero.

As I said, we’re all to blame. We all let this happen, either by contributing to it or to shrugging our shoulders and staying silent as the decay set in.

Honestly, I have no idea how – or if – we can turn it around. I genuinely don’t know if enough people want to.

            I believe that it is possible to turn our nation around, but I do not think that it will happen. Just the fact that liberals are turning the massacre into a political debate on gun control shows how far down the slippery slope we have fallen. The only way to change our nation is to change the people, and the only way to change the people is to soften their heart. The only person that can soften hearts is Jesus Christ. So, the only way to turn our nation from the violence culture that we currently have is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and call people to repentance. How do you think that would go over in our day and age? Me neither. My suggestion is that you put your own house in order and prepare for the Savior to return to earth. 

Fathers Needed

                Families, communities and nations are strengthened when good fathers are in the home with their children.  Fathers and mothers bring different skills, mindsets, and personalities to their home, and children need to have the influence of both parents.  Children deserve to be reared by both a mother and a father in the home.

\               The recent mass shooting in Oregon brought gun control to the nation’s attention once again.  Gun control advocates from Barack Obama down are all clamoring for more laws to control guns even though they know gun control is not the answer to the violence.  They all have an agenda to take guns away from American citizens, and they never “let a crisis go to waste.”  They refuse to look at the facts that are staring all of us in the face.   All we have to do is look at Chicago and Detroit:  these two cities and others like them have the strongest laws against guns in the nation and yet have the most murders.  Gun control does not work.  It simply takes the guns out of the hands of citizens who can then no longer defend themselves from thugs.

                Thankfully, we are blessed with good people who see through the smoke and mirrors and see the real cause of violence in our nation.

Matt Walsh, a “blogger, writer, speaker, and professional truth sayer,” wrote an article published at The Blaze entitled “Our Kids Don’t Need Gun Control Laws,They Need Fathers.” He claims the federal government will not confiscate guns because it is “an expensive, convoluted, extravagant, impractical, unconstitutional, disastrous, ridiculous, impossible solution.  But it’s easy.  Not easy to do, easy to talk about.  Easy in the abstract.  Easy to use as a scapegoat.  It’s easier for us as a society to place the blame on the tool a murderer uses instead of focusing on why he chose to be a murderer in the first place.  And if we do discuss why, it’s easiest to simply and generically conclude that he’s `crazy’ or `nuts.’  A crazy nut with a gun, that’s all.  More pills!  Fewer guns!  That’s the ticket!  We find great comfort in this – pawning the solution off to politicians and drug companies – because it saves us from assuming any sort of responsibility ourselves.”

                Mr. Walsh brought the responsibility right to the home.  “These mass killings happen with relative frequency, and they are usually not perpetrated by men who grew up in strong families with both biological parents present.  Divorce and fatherlessness are the two elements that tie most of these cases together.  No other factor – gun laws, politics, racism, etc. – comes close….

                “Indeed, it’s not just the high publicity tragedies that seem to always involve broken homes.  The statistics across the board are staggering and conclusive:  90 percent of homeless kids are from fatherless homes; 63 percent of kids who commit suicide are from fatherless homes; 71 percent of high school dropouts are from fatherless homes.  Children from fatherless homes are at a much greater risk of developing drug addictions and are four times as likely to be poor.  Out of all the youths in prison, a full 85 percent are from fatherless homes.  In the inner city where violence and drug abuse are rampant, four out of every five children are growing up without their biological fathers.

                “You name the societal ill or problematic group – from violent boys to promiscuous girls to everything in between – and right there in the middle you’ll find broken homes, unstable families and absent fathers.”

                Mr. Walsh said it very plainly, but in case you did not get the message from him, here is another messenger.  Bobby Jindal, Governor of Louisiana and presidential candidate, made a “very politically incorrect” statement about the father of the Oregon shooter after talking about the “millions of kids” growing up without fathers in the home:  “You have the father of the Oregon shooter lecturing us about gun control.  Here’s a guy that, by his own admission, doesn’t know how many guns his son had; doesn’t know where he got the guns; wasn’t in his son’s life.  He was living with his mom – really couldn’t tell us a whole lot about his son.  Who is he to be lecturing us?”  Governor Jindal also stated that the left does not “want to talk about the moral decay” that is rampant in our nation.

                Vicki Gardner, the lone survivor of an on-air attack in Virginia a month ago, recently wrote that she has “had plenty of time to contemplate this complicated social phenomenon and how it can be resolved.”  She does not believe more gun control legislation would reduce crime.  “The answers may lie not in far off legislative halls but much closer to home.  Perhaps it is parents monitoring more closely what their children consume in the terms of media.  And, as adults, maybe it’s refusal to give into our baser desires of enjoying for entertainment what we abhor in our culture.”

                BINGO!  She hit the nail squarely on the head.  The solution to the violence in our nation is for mothers and fathers to accept responsibility for the children they conceive and teach their children correct principles.  They could start with loving each other enough to marry and then stay married for the benefit of the children.  Children need mothers and fathers in their home.  This simple change would strengthen our homes, communities, and nations.

Just Like Clockwork

                A gunman started shooting at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. around 8:00 A.M. on Monday morning, September 16, 2013, and killed twelve people before being killed by police.  Eight additional people were injured:  three shot by the shooter, five had stress related injuries, and at least one person fell.  The suspected shooter was apparently a military contractor who had a problem with the Navy.  Initially authorities said that three shooters were involved and even announced a detailed description of two suspects; eventually, the police announced that they were comfortable in saying that the shooting had been committed by one person.  Those killed by the shooter range in age from 46 to 73 years in age and included both men and women.  A Metropolitan Police Officer was injured in the shooting but is doing well.

                By Monday evening Senator DianneFeinstein (D-California) had renewed her demand for more gun-control laws.  “When will enough be enough?  Congress must stop shirking its responsibility and resume a thoughtful debate on gun violence in this country.  We must do more to stop this endless loss of life.”  She added:  “There are reports the killed was armed with an AR-15, a shotgun and a semiautomatic pistol when he stormed an American military installation in the nation’s capital and took at least 12 innocent lives.”

                Feinstein is not one to waste a crisis.  After the murders of innocent children at Sandy Hook Elementary School last year, Feinstein pushed unsuccessfully to ban more than 150 types of firearms, including rifles, pistols and shotguns.  She renewed her call for more gun control on Monday.

                When will people like Feinstein understand that gun control does not control guns that get into the hands of people who should not have guns?  There are millions of responsible gun owners in the United States who have never shot another person, and their guns have never been used in a crime of any kind. 

                I agree with Feinstein that we should do something before more innocent people lose their lives, but I disagree with her demand for more gun control.  The shooter at Navy Yard allegedly had several previous incidences that showed his anger and inability to use his guns in a law-abiding way.  The attacks at the Navy Yard would not have taken place if the shooter had received help and/or been incarcerated at any of the previous incidences.  It is way past time that we demand that our legislators use common sense in making laws.  Let’s get the dangerous people off the streets before they become mass murderers!

Gun Control Statistics

                The liberty principle for this Freedom Friday is the simple fact that statistics show how well gun control laws work.  In spite of everything that politicians claim, the statistics show there is more gun violence and more murders by guns in the states with the strongest gun control laws.

                Gun control advocates are still trying to take away our guns in spite of the fact that gun control laws bring more gun violence.  Police officers and others who are on the front lines battling violence are among the first to testify that gun control laws do not lessen gun violence.  PoliceOne surveyed law enforcement officers – “verified police professionals across all ranks and department sizes” – about gun policy and law enforcement; their survey was conducted in the period of March 4-13, 2013, and received 15,595 responses.  The responses from verified police professionals show that law enforcement personnel in the United States disagree overwhelming with the gun control measures being discussed by our representatives in Washington, D.C.  

The results from this survey illustrate that law enforcement personnel support the Second Amendment.  PoliceOne is a law enforcement website with more than 400,000 registered members.  The above referenced survey consisted of more than 20 questions about how they believe stricter gun control will affect the community.  Consider this question and the responses:  What effect do you think a federal ban on manufacture and sale of some semi-automatic firearms, termed by some as `assault weapons,’ would have on reducing violent crime?”  Out of the 14,642 law enforcement personnel who answered this question, 10,397 (71.0%) marked “none” as their answer.  This was followed by 3,004 people choosing “negative” (20.5%).  These two groups made 91.5% of those answering the question.

According to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, California was named the state with the strongest gun control laws in 2011.  Now consider the following data from the FBI’s uniform crime reports:  California, with 37 million residents, had the most murders committed by gun in 2011; their 1,220 gun murders (68% of all murders in the state that year) equates to 3.25 murders per 100,000 people.  In comparison, Texas has a population of 25.6 million and had about half the number of murders of California in 2011 – with a firearms murder rate of 2.91 per 100,000.

In their report of the above listed statistics, The Blaze noted the following information about Utah:  With a population of 2.8 million people, Utah “experienced just 26 gun murders and a firearms murder rate of 0.97, and yet the Brady Campaign considered this state with the “least gun control.”

The Blaze also noted that Washington, D.C. is the murder capital of our nation with 12 gun murders per 100,000 in 2011.  It also “finished first in gun-related robberies per 100,000 people – with 242.56.”  The District of Columbia in 1976 “required all guns be registered, banned new handguns and required guns at home to be stored and dissembled or locked up.”  Obviously, gun control laws did not work in D.C.!

Rush Limbaugh commented on Tuesday about the statistics in the The Blaze article, noting that 17 out of the 20 states with the highest number of gun murders are governed by Democrats.  As Rush said, “these are statistics that Democrats do not want you to know about.

Another article at The Blaze provided still more statistics about gun violence:  “Gun homicides have dropped steeply in the United States since their peak in 1993….

“A study released Tuesday by the government’s Bureau of Justice Statistics found that gun-related homicides dropped from 18,253 in 1993 to 11,101 in 2011.  That’s a 39 percent reduction.

“Another report by the private Pew Research Center found a similar decline by looking at the rate of gun homicides, which compares the number of killings to the size of the country’s population.  It found that the number of gun homicides per 100,000 people fell from 7 in 1993 to 3.6 in 2010, a drop of 49 percent.

“Both reports also found the rate of non-fatal crimes involving guns was also down by around 70 percent over that period.”

So if gun control laws bring more gun violence and gun murders have declined by 39-49 percent in the past 20 years, why are the Liberals so desirous for more gun control laws?  The statics prove that gun control is simply about control and not about control of guns.

               The United Nations is also trying to take away our guns with the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty(ATT).  This treaty “could prevent the United States from coming to the aid of its closest allies, as well as limit the constitutional rights of Americans.”  Thanks to 34 Senators co-sponsoring S. Con. Res 7, a resolution that opposed the UN treaty, there were not enough Senators to ratify the treaty.  According to Mike Lee (R-UT), “The United Nations Arms Trade Treaty is deeply flawed, which is why a majority of senators recently voted to stop the administration from continuing to push it.  I have great concerns that this treaty can be used to violate the second amendment rights of American citizens, and do not believe we should sign any treaty that infringes on the sovereignty of our country.  I am pleased to join 34 of my colleagues in signaling to this administration that the UN-ATT is a non-starter in the senate.”  Senator Lee was the 34^th opposing vote in a situation that requires 67 votes to ratify.  For now, this treaty is a “non-starter.” but we must remain vigilant to protect our liberty.

Gun Control Bill

                The liberty principle for this Freedom Friday concerns gun control and its effect on rights and privacy.  The Obama Administration continues to push gun control, and the Democrats controlling the U.S. Senate tried to shove through an amendment supporting the President’s desires.  In spite of evidence that gun control does not reduce violence, liberals continue to push gun control.  In spite of testimony that the bill would not have prevented the tragic shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, the President and other liberals continue to believe that they must “do something” about guns.

                Reuters reported that the Senate rejected a bipartisan plan to expand background checks for gun buyers on Wednesday.    The plan to extend background checks to online and gun-show sales failed on a 54-46 vote when 60 votes were needed to clear the Senate.  The amendment was sponsored by Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Pat Toomey (R-Penn) and represented President Obama’s “best chance” to pass “meaningful gun-control legislation.”

                I am pleased that both of my Senators voted “no.”  They both obviously understand that Alaskans do not want gun control.  “Four Democrats who will face re-election in conservative, gun-friendly states opposed the Manchin-Toomey background checks amendment – Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Mark Begich of Alaska, Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Max Baucus of Montana. 

                “Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid supported the measure, but changed his vote after it was apparent it would lose in order to preserve his option to bring the measure back up in the Senate.

                “Four Republicans backed it:  Toomey, Susan Collins of Maine, John McCain of Arizona and Mark Kirk of Illinois.”

                I hope that conservative voters remember the Republicans – RINOs – who supported expanded background checks for gun buyers and vote them out of office.  I also hope voters – particularly Alaskans – are not fooled by the Democrats who voted against the measure.   They are still Democrats who must be defeated!

                Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) tried to replace the existing gun-control bill with an amendment that would put the “focus on prosecuting gun crimes, improving mental health records for gun owners and funding improved school safety measure,” but his amendment was rejected on a 52-48 vote.

                Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) said of Grassley’s measure, “Rather than restricting the rights of law-abiding Americans, we should be focusing on keeping guns out of the hands of violent criminals, which this legislation accomplishes.”

                Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and the Democrats decided to “shelve” the gun control bill because of the failure to get enough votes to pass it; they plan to bring it back later if the political climate improves for it.

                The President was confident that he could “shame and bully Republicans into submitting to his agenda of tax increases and sweeping gun reform.”  When he realized that his tactics were not working, he began to “court” Republicans and “take on his own party” by calling for “modest reductions in entitlement spending.” 

                “Obama, regardless of the personality and political approach he displays on any given day, keeps running into the same wall of insurmountable opposition.  The cold, hard reality is that the president is trapped in a very frustrating box:  He realizes that the vast majority of Congress is as impervious to his pressure as it is to his charm.  He is damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t – and he knows it….”

                This gun control amendment did not pass because there were enough Senators who understand that Americans do not want more gun control.  They know that Americans are beginning to “wise up” and “see” the dangers imposed by the regime.  One of the reasons for this increased awakening is The Heritage Foundation and the information it provides to members of Congress.  The Heritage Foundation claimed that the current bill would erode our “rights and privacy” and urged the lawmakers to consider the many “complex factors that contribute to violence.

                Heritage published a report entitled “The Newtown Tragedy:  Complex Causes Require Thoughtful Analysis and Responses.”  The abstract to this report stated:  “In responding to horrific crimes such as the massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, individuals, families, civil society, and possibly government must channel their concerns into effective measures that are consistent with the Constitution.  As we try to make society safer and stronger, constitutional and complex cultural factors must be taken into consideration, and sound policy must be based on a serious study of the data and other evidence.  Policymakers should avoid a rush to judgment on prescriptions that violate first principles, ignore the real root of these complex problems, or disregard careful social science research.  Any federal government role must be limited and constrained by constitutional principles.  The most important solutions lie at the state and local levels, in the community and within the family.”

                The Foundry, a blog published by the experts at The Heritage Foundation, weighed in on the Senate bill.  “Since the tragic shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, President Obama and many in Congress have pushed a `do something’ mentality on gun control.  Heritage experts urged lawmakers to consider the host of complex factors that contribute to violent outbreaks and to steer away from untested ideas that would restrict the rights of law-abiding citizens.  But the plan facing a vote in the Senate today would have much broader effects on law-abiding citizens than it would do anything to curb gun violence.

                “The plan … gives Attorney General Eric Holder the power to write countless regulations affecting gun laws.”  [What could go wrong with Holder writing the regulations?]

                The article quoted David Addington, legal expert at Heritage, who outlined three dangers that the “shelved” gun-control bill would bring to Americans:  “1) It sets `a trap for the innocent.’”  People at gun shows could be sent “to jail up to five years for a crime they did not even know was a crime.”  “2) It allows firearms dealers to do secret background checks on job applicants.”  “3) It `reduces existing privacy protection for mental health records relevant to background checks’ … ‘leaving only what privacy protection the Attorney General cares to provide.’”

“We need to address the underlying problems that lead to violence and fix any outstanding issues with the current system. But encroaching on the rights of Americans and eroding privacy laws is not the way to do it.”

                This gun-control bill was never about controlling violence; it has always been about controlling law-abiding citizens.  Plus, it would do nothing to stop future tragedies like happened in Newtown.  Americans are fortunate that the Senate did not pass this amendment and slowed the rush to more gun control.  

Gun Control and Wounded Knee

                The liberty principle for this Freedom Friday is the simple fact that United States troops have fired upon Americans when ordered to do so by the politicians in Washington, D.C.  The massacre of Sioux Indians on the banks of Wounded Knee Creek is just one example of what happens when the “government” wants to “protect” people from themselves or from concern for society as a whole.  Other modern examples are the shootout at Ruby Ridge and the explosion/fire at Waco, Texas. 

Today we will learn about Wounded Knee, one of the very first attempts by the U.S. government to control guns.  The massacre there took place because the army was sent to confiscate the Indian’s rifles. 

                The massacre at Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota took place on December 29, 1890.  Many Sioux were camped on the banks of the creek that morning, including Chief Big Foot and about 350 tribal members.  U.S. troops surrounded the camp; they had been charged with the responsibility to arrest Big Food and to disarm his warriors.  There had been trouble brewing for several months.

                The Sioux had once been a proud people who roamed freely over the plains hunting buffalo and living in freedom; then the United States government confined them to reservations and made them dependent on Indian Agents for their necessities.  The Sioux longed for their old life and were desperate to return to their glory days.  The Sioux heard of a Paiute shaman called Wovoka in Nevada who was preaching a new mysticism and sent emissaries to listen to his words.

                “Wovoka called himself the Messiah and prophesied that the dead would soon join the living in a world in which the Indians could live in the old way surrounded by plentiful game.  A tidal wave of new soil would cover the earth, bury the whites, and restore the prairie.  To hasten the event, the Indians were to dance the Ghost Dance.  Many dancers wore brightly colored shirts emblazoned with images of eagles and buffaloes.  [They believed that] these `Ghost Shirts’ would protect them from the bluecoats’ bullets.  During the fall of 1890, the Ghost Dance spread through the Sioux villages of the Dakota reservations, revitalizing the Indians and bringing fear to the whites.  A desperate Indian Agent at Pine Ridge wired his superior in Washington, `The Indians are dancing in the snow and are wild and crazy …. We need protection and we need it now.  The leaders should be arrested and confined at some military post until the matter is quieted, and this should be done now.’  The order went out to arrest Chief Sitting Bull at the Standing Rock Reservation.  Sitting Bull was killed in the attempt on December 15.  Chief Big Foot was next on the list.”

                Big Foot, sick with pneumonia and dying, did not wait to be arrested but led his people south seeking protection at the Pine Ridge Reservation.  The U.S. troops intercepted the Sioux on December 28 and forced them to camp at the edge of the Wounded Knee Creek on December 28.  While Big Foot and his warriors were powwowing with the army officers in the early morning hours, a shot was heard.  The Indians grabbed their rifles, but soldiers “fired volley after volley into the Sioux camp.”  Grapeshot from the “Hotchkiss guns” fired by soldiers from heights above the camp tore through the Indian teepees.  Men, women, and children ran for their lives through the clouds of gun smoke.  Many of them tried to hide in a ravine close to the camp, but they were killed by “withering cross fire.”

                When the shooting stopped and the smoke cleared, Foot and approximately 300 Sioux Indians (other sites say 150) were dead while only 25 soldiers died.  A blizzard swept in from the North as the soldiers attempted to remove the dead bodies, and the task was postponed for a few days.  Some fighting continued in scattered places, but the Ghost Dance movement and the Indian Wars were basically ended at Wounded Knee Creek.

                The Framers of the Constitution and the Founders of our nation wrote the Second Amendment – the right to keep and bear arms – to give the people the right to defend themselves, their families, and their properties from either an invading army or from an oppressive government.  Anyone who believes that the Second Amendment was given to us for hunting or sporting purposes has not studied history.  In colonial times and longer, hunting was an everyday or weekly activity in order to put food on the table, and ammunition was too valuable to waste otherwise.  The colonists had just finished fighting an eight-year war against an oppressive government.  They understood the importance of guns and the ability of people to defend themselves against the government if necessary.  The massacre at Wounded Knee Creek is just one example of botched federal attempts to control guns.

Gun Control and Waco Siege

                The liberty principle for this Freedom Friday is the simple fact that United States troops fire on American citizens when ordered to do by the politicians in Washington, D.C.  There have been several instances when the soldiers, etc. have fired on Americans; some of those examples took place at Wounded Knee Creek (South Dakota), Waco (Texas), Ruby Ridge (Idaho), and outside Washington, D.C.  Today we will discuss the siege/massacre at Waco.

                The siege at Waco began on February 28, 1993, when agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) tried to execute a search warrant at the Mount Carmel Center ranch.  A religious group known as the Branch Davidians owned the ranch, which was located in the community of Elk, Texas, about nine miles east-northeast of Waco.  The siege ended violently 50 days later on April 19.

                An intense gun battle erupted when the ATF agents attempted to serve the warrant on February 28, and four agents and six Branch Davidians were killed.  Upon the failure of the ATF agents to execute the search warrant, Attorney General Janet Reno ordered the FBI to lay a siege of the compound.  After 50 days, a second assault was launched, and the siege ended in a fire that destroyed the compound.  Sect leader David Koresh and seventy-six men, women and children died in the fire.  Numerous government agents were also killed.  This event took place while Bill Clinton was President and Janet Reno was Attorney General.

                No one knows which side fired the first shots.  I do not even know why the ATF wanted to serve the warrants in the first place.  I remember hearing charges of child abuse and drug use, but I did not see either of these charges listed in the court cases of the surviving members of the sect.  Trials, jail sentences, and reports took place, but I agree with Ramsey Clark, former U.S. Attorney General, who represented several Branch Davidian survivors and relatives in a civil lawsuit.  He said the Danforth Report “failed to address the obvious.  History will clearly record, I believe, that these assaults on the Mt. Carmel church center remain the greatest domestic law enforcement tragedy in the history of the United States.”

History Lesson

                The Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America was written to protect American citizens from tyranny.  The Framers of our Constitution understood the importance of citizens having the right to keep and bear arms.  During the Revolutionary War American rebels had similar fire power to that used by the British soldiers.  It only makes sense for modern citizens to have the same firing power that the government might use against them. 

The American Revolution would not have taken place if guns were controlled.  Britain’s soldiers confiscated all firearms possible in order to control the American rebels.  The Battles of Lexington and Concord took place because the Americans were unwilling to let the British soldiers take their stores of gun powder, etc.  Americans won those battles because they used guerilla tactics:  they made quick strikes and then faded into the trees only to come out again in another place to do more damage.

Some people consider it silly for American gun owners to think they can wage war against the most powerful nation on earth today.  I suppose it would be silly if they planned to meet on a battlefield, but I do not suppose that any modern revolutionary would consider doing that!

The United States – and France before them – lost a war in Vietnam because the Viet Cong used guerilla tactics.  Russia lost the war in Afghanistan against villagers who were defending their homes.  Last year Libya was taken over by revolutionaries, and today the Syrian government is having a difficult time putting down revolutionaries in their country.  

All these revolutionaries were/are fighting against stronger firepower, but none were fighting on a battlefield.  They used and still use guerilla tactics – a quick strike here and a quick strike there.  They attack when and where they choose and then evade; they force the stronger side to defend everything.  Unless today’s stronger force is willing to bomb entire towns – think of the urban warfare in Iraq – the aircraft and tanks are useless.  If “the people” support the revolutionaries, it is almost impossible to discern the “guilty” from the “innocent.”  The revolutionaries might not win, but they could force a dictator to bring the international community over to their side and against the dictator.  This kind of warfare has been proven successful time and again.

There is another part of gun history that should be included here.  Gun control is not about guns; it is about governments trying to control citizens. Only a government that is afraid of its own citizens tries to control them; some examples of how governments “controlled” their citizens are as follow.  The dates and the numbers may be wrong, but the general idea is correct.  I know because much of this tyranny occurred in my lifetime, and I have heard the news reports on bodies being found.

Turkey established gun control in 1911.  Between 1915 and 1917, the government exterminated 1.5 million unarmed Armenians who were unable to defend themselves.

 The Soviet Union established gun control in 1929.  Between 1929 and 1953, the government exterminated 20 million unarmed dissidents who were unable to defend themselves.

China established gun control in 1935.  Between 1948 and 1952, the government exterminated 20 million political dissidents who were unarmed and unable to defend themselves.

Germany established gun control in 1938.  Between 1939 and 1945, the government exterminated 13 million unarmed Jews and others who were unable to defend themselves.

Cambodia established gun control in 1956.  Between 1975 and 1977, the government exterminated 1,000,000 educated people who were unarmed and unable to defend themselves.

Guatemala established gun control in 1964.  Between 1964 and 1981, the government exterminated 100,000 Mayan Indians who were unarmed and unable to defend themselves.

Uganda established gun control in 1970.  Between 1971 and 1979, the government exterminated 300,000 Christians who were unarmed and unable to defend themselves.

This makes a grand total of 56 million people who were rounded up and exterminated in the 20^th Century – people who were unarmed and unable to defend themselves. 

The Second Amendment states that the Right to Keep and Bear Arms shall NOT be infringed, and the Supreme Court has ruled that Americans have the right to keep and bear arms.  I believe that this means we can keep any gun that we can carry. 

The Second Amendment to the Constitution is in place just in case politicians ignore our other rights.  Only people who are free have the right to keep and bear arms; they do not ask permission to bear arms.  This makes them citizens; when this right is taken away, the citizen becomes a subject or a slave.  Wise and prudent citizens understand that the day may come when they have to fight to protect their rights.  They know that honest, law-abiding citizens do not shoot to kill but to stay alive.  They understand that citizens who know guns also know peace and safety, but citizens with no guns also have no peace or safety.  They understand that there are millions of firearm owners who never kill anyone but provide peace and security for everyone.

Two quotes attributed to two famous Founders should be remembered by all Americans.  “Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not.”  (Thomas Jefferson)  “Those who trade liberty for security have neither.”  (John Adams)

Americans should be applauding and thanking gun owners instead of trying to disarm them.  It is the honest, law-abiding gun owners who are protecting the freedoms and liberties that we enjoy.  Remember that the Constitution of the United States of America was copyrighted in 1791 and all Rights are preserved by it.