Homegun politicsMore on the Mike Vanderboegh letter

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More on the Mike Vanderboegh letter — 3 Comments

  1. Vanderboegh seems to be saying “Enough if Enough.” Perhaps you would be interested in this article: http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2007/0319governance_wittes.aspx which is entitled “Ditch the Second Amendment” in which he states “The Founders had a lot of experience with oppressive rulers and little idea whether the constitutional order they were setting up would remain free; maybe they would need to overthrow it sometime. After more than two centuries of constitutional government, however, it’s safe to assume that neither an armed citizenry nor a well-regulated militia really is “necessary to the security of a free State.” The opposite seems closer to the truth; just ask the Bosnians or the Iraqis. And elections, it turns out, do the job pretty well. To put the matter simply, the Founders were wrong about the importance of guns to a free society.”

    Some gun control nuts would even support unannounced, house to house searches to find and confiscate guns, since there is no alternative way to try and get them all.

    Well, here are the facts. During the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, guns were confiscated from their lawful owners while armed mobs roamed the streets. Registration lists have been used both in New York and California to confiscate guns from lawful owners; at least lawful until the laws were changed. So, if you believe that gun registration isn’t a prelude to gun confiscation, then you are ignoring the facts; it has already happened.

    Citizens of Germany thought it was a good idea to pass gun control laws to keep guns out of the hands of the Nazis. And they lived in a democratic government, too.

    The other point is that the right to bear arms, the right to self defense is not granted by the constitution. It is a right given by the Almighty to all people, even though the UN says there is no such right. The constitution states that right shall not be infringed, yet there are some 20,000 laws on the books directly infringing upon those rights today. And with all those laws, and all the enforcement to date, criminals still possess guns, crime happens, and the most crime is in those cities that have the strictest gun laws.

    So, stop trying to legislate what kind of a weapon I need to keep myself and my family safe. My rights are not to shifting public opinion polls, nor to the doctrine of the UN. And if you believe that gun control advocates are willing to reach a point of accommodation where they say, we have enough regulation; we don’t need more, then ask them why they don’t favor similar reasonable regulations on something like Pro-Choice.

  2. Joe, I agree with what you are saying. The main problem I had with the original letter is that it was a response to a citizen’s letter that was crafted much more in the form of a threat than anything. As your well thought out and written comment shows, there are significantly more effective ways to answer a call for gun registration that is likely based on lack of knowledge rather than malice. A person who is unfamiliar with the issue might think that it is a good idea to register guns, as we register cars, etc. without thinking through the long term, and historically confirmed ramifications. Where I such a person, the historical examples you cite would be much more effective in changing my mind than “if you do that, we’ll shoot.”

  3. Pingback:A point I was trying to make last night. « Squeaky Wheel Seeks Grease

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