Dear Source:
There is no more important duty for any living being than to defend its life. Defense of human life is a core natural, not man-made, right. Yet our society has devolved to the point where we have many and varied restrictions to the right to defend human life. Firearms continue to be demonized and restricted from the common citizen, and as a result, the law abiding many are paying the price for the sins of the criminal and crazy few. A classic case of emotion and hype versus logic and common sense. Heck, by merely penning this article, I’m likely ‘poking the bear’ that is government.
The long-term answer to all violent crime is to groom our people from a young age on the importance of individual responsibility for actions taken, and respect for the sanctity of human life. Instead of teaching right versus wrong, some in our society instead choose to demonize specific inanimate objects that rely on human interaction for outcomes that either illicitly injure, maim, or take life (evil), or defend life (good). If ‘Guns cause crimes’ does that mean guns are sentient, able to commit crimes on their own without human interaction? Perhaps it’s the materials that guns are made from that’s ‘evil’. Should we ban the polymers & metal used in manufacturing firearms? Would that stop the violence?
Similarly, our society debates the ethics of killing millions of defenseless babies in the womb which again highlights the concepts of personal responsibility, and respect for the sanctity of life; but my focus here is firearms. In short, solving the problem of ‘evil in the heart of man’ is too hard for government bureaucrats, who instead favor penalizing law abiding citizens who own, or want to own firearms; such penalizing is easy. So, our natural right in this regard is incrementally being eroded, and happens with strokes of a political pen. Adolf Hitler, in 1942 said, “The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to allow the subject races to possess arms.” I bet the Jews and others in then Nazi-subjugated Europe during that period wish they had a Second Amendment. So much for the right to ‘keep and bear.’
If gun control advocates have their way, only the government and criminals will have firearms. Criminals, by definition, don’t respect laws. That’s why they’re criminals. Politicians and law enforcement have proven themselves largely impotent in controlling criminals and crime. So, to show that something, anything, is being done, government increasingly restricts the rights of good law abiding people. This process is emotion-based, lacks critical thinking, and seeks to make us all similar to defenseless babies in the womb. The control begins with registration, but all registration does is tell government where all the legally owned firearms are. The first step towards confiscation. The former Governor Mapp tried that with his illicit executive order just before Hurricane Irma struck the VI. His written aim was to negate the Second & Fourth Amendment rights of US Virgin Islanders because, after all, a crisis is a terrible thing to waste. Do criminals register firearms?
Chicago, Baltimore, St Louis, New Orleans, and Detroit are all examples of strict gun control municipalities, and are amongst the most dangerous cities in the USA. The U.S. Virgin Islands also has extremely restrictive gun control. No guns are allowed to be legally owned without going through a lengthy application process, including final disposition by the VI Police Commissioner. If the commissioner deems there to be ‘too many guns out there,’ or any other whim, one can be denied a permit even if you have a clean record. The commissioner’s opinion… er… discretion is essentially absolute and final, especially with concealed carry. So much for ‘shall not be infringed’. Wherever guns are banned and/or gun control is strict, homicide rates are high. FBI statistics show the murder rate in the VI as very high; at times the highest in the USA.
So-called Gun Free Zones highlight yet another penalty to the people. Riddle me this? Why are Gun Free Zones deemed OK for our children in schools, yet our politicians are defended by security with guns? Are politicians more important than the ordinary citizenry? Do Gun Free Zone signs deter criminals?
Responsible gun owners value the defense of human life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and personal responsibility at the top of our system of core values. A fact seemingly lost upon officialdom. I could go on, but as citizens of the USA, we are the envy of the world to have a Constitution, with a Bill of Rights that codifies the right to keep and bear arms that forms the cornerstone defense for all other rights and freedoms we the people have against tyrannical government. That being said, guns are not the problem, solving the problem of ‘evil in the heart of man’ is. So, stop penalizing law abiding citizens who are, or want to be, responsible gun owners and enthusiasts. We are not criminals, nor are we the enemy.
Vince Danet, Estate Nadir, St. Thomas