A Letter to Congress

There have been many terrible atrocities throughout the history of mankind. The first murder recorded in the Bible was when Adam’s son Cane murdered his brother, Able. Unfortunately, evil has been ingrained in humanity since the beginning of mankind, and will always exist in a broken world such as ours. There will surely always be murder as long as we are a flawed man with wickedness in our hearts, but the issue I would like to discuss, in light of the recent events, is guns, specifically the guns that murder.

First, let me say that I believe that we need to reduce the number of murders, not just in this country, but in the world. I would also like to stand publically and say that I believe Americans should have the right to bear arms. This right was placed in our Constitution by our founding fathers. These men were very intelligent, very experienced, and even more patriotic. This Constitutional right was not established for sport or for hunting, but as a precaution against the dictatorship and tyrannical rule of which they were very familiar. This was very clearly stated by the great Thomas Jefferson.

“The strongest reason for people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government” – Thomas Jefferson

Notice that his statement is clear. The right to bear arms is for protection (not sporting or hunting), against tyranny in government (not for fun or animals for food), and also, as a last resort. Resort is defined as “To have recourse” and recourse is defined as “The act or an instance of turning or applying to a person or thing for aid or security”. So, his statement literally means that Americans should retain their right to be armed as a means of security and aid against a tyranny in government. These men knew what a power hungry government was capable of, and they fought very hard to gain their freedom from it. This right is one of the most important rights in the constitution, and one of the foundational blocks of the freedom you and I enjoy today. Without a means to protect our freedom from tyranny, then how long will it be before we lose our right to free speech, free press, freedom of religion, or expression, or freedom in general?

Those who oppose guns will say that less guns equals less crime, but if one examines the facts, one can see that this is simply not the case. In Australia, the government confiscated the guns and crime increased dramatically because the criminals knew they were not in danger, and because they still had access to guns. After the gun confiscation, home invasions rose 89%. In Britain, there are very strict gun laws, and while the homicide rate involving guns is, “by the numbers”, small in comparison to other countries, Britain has the second highest violent crime rate of all the richest nations in the world…higher than South Africa, and much higher than the US. In fact, the only nation with a higher violent crime rate is Australia, obviously attributed to the fact that the law abiding citizens there are no longer able to defend themselves and their families with a firearm against these criminals. Illinois has very strict gun laws, but the gang violence in the state is terrible, and the rate of “homicide by gun” in the state is quite elevated, even with these strict gun laws. In Mexico it is illegal to own a firearm, yet there were more deaths by gun last year in Mexico than in the US.

But the opposite is true of places that require gun ownership. Kennesaw GA passed a law in 1982 that required all citizens to own a firearm. Yet there have been only three murders: two with knives (1984 and 1987) and one with a firearm (1997). After the law went into effect in 1982, crime against persons plummeted 74 percent compared to 1981, and fell another 45 percent in 1983 compared to 1982. When residents of the county were asked about the decrease in crime, they attributed it to the gun ownership law. In fact, when convicted criminals from a local prison were asked about the gun laws in GA, they stated that they were much more reluctant to attack or violate people when they knew that the victim may be armed and ready to defend themselves. The popular liberal belief is that if we take the guns away, then crime will decrease, but this is simply not supported by the facts.

The argument by the “gun grabbers” of America is that the total number of deaths due to guns in America is staggering, and that a reduction in guns is the only option to save lives. Some 11,000 + people lost their lives to guns last year in this country. But with a closer look into the totals, one can clearly see that a majority of the gun deaths are involving gang related shootings between rival gangs. The gang war plays an enormous part in the death total in the US…the very statistic that politicians use to back up their argument for gun control, but we never hear these same politicians focus on the real problem…the criminals themselves. The gangs in this country have never had a problem getting their hands on guns, not matter what the law says, and as long as guns are manufactured for monetary gain, they will find a way into the hands of gangs. So, you see, the numbers don’t tell the whole truth, and stricter gun laws only hurt the people government is supposed to protect. All gun laws will do is take guns out of the hands of law abiding citizen’s and limit their ability to defend themselves with equal force against those who will possess firearms regardless of the laws in place, or against those in power whose agenda may be to enslave the populous.

The issue of guns always becomes a hot topic after a tragedy like Sandy Hook or the theater shooting in Colorado. But, ask yourself this...”If a conceal carry permit holder in the theater in Colorado would have had their gun, and shot the killer saving numerous lives, then what would the conversation be?” Or better yet, “If you were in that theater, would you still be opposed to a licensed gun carrier with a weapon in the seat next to you, with the option of aiming it at the criminal who was threatening your life?” In fact, a gentleman by the name of Guy Bennett spoke out about this very thing. He and His son are licensed conceal carry permit holders. His son and his girlfriend survived the shooting in the theater that night, although his girlfriend was shot. His son was unable to carry his firearm in to the movies that night because it is a gun free zone.  Mr. Bennett said, “We need to abolish the defenseless victim zones, I’m tired of explaining to him why his girlfriend was shot and he could not defend himself — a God-given right.” This is from a man whose son was directly in the line of fire.

I bet the parents of the children that were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School would have been thankful for an armed teacher or principal who could have taken action to stop this killer before he took those precious lives that day. A screened and permitted person with a handgun and proper training would have stopped many of deaths on those tragic days in our history. In fact, there are numerous cases each month, which are never reported by the mainstream media, of people who are permitted to carry a firearm stopping robberies, shootings, home invasions, or other crime in general. This is yet more justification that gun laws are not the problem…criminals are the problem, or to be more specific, evil is the real problem.

Criminals don't care about innocent lives, and they never care what the laws are…that is exactly what makes them criminals. They will still find guns no matter what the law says, and they will still harm people with these guns because they are evil, broken, or just don’t care about life. Yet politicians make claims that their gun grabbing agenda is focused on saving innocent people’s lives, and that reducing the death total of innocent people is their supposed agenda that drives their need to regulate firearms. But again, this is simply not supported by the facts. Tobacco killed over 500,000 people last year, yet the manufacturing of tobacco is not stopped or criminalized because the money it generates is massive. When this point is brought up, the response is often, “these people chose to use tobacco” and “this is not an apples to apples comparison with murder”, but second hand smoke killed nearly 50,000 people last year, which could technically be classified as murder since they lost their life at no fault of their own due to someone else’s choice. This is nearly five times the number of deaths caused by guns. But you never see any politicians screaming “shut down tobacco!” because the tobacco industry contributes major money to the government. Ask yourself this, “Are your children more at risk of addiction to tobacco, or subjection to second hand smoke, than they are at risk of being killed by a gun?” According to the facts, they are five times more likely to die from tobacco than by a gun, even if they don’t use tobacco themselves. But there is no anti-tobacco agenda in Washington.

If the death of innocent lives is the real agenda, then why is abortion a political platform topic of disagreement? Approximately 219 women die worldwide each day from an unsafe abortion, and over 3,700 babies are killed each day in the US alone (that’s 1.35+ million per year) from abortions. Yet our government, specifically the Title X Family Planning Program and Medicaid, gives Planned Parenthood over 360+ million dollars each year in support of these mass murders. Where is the outcry for these innocent lives that are taken? If the agenda is truly about saving innocent lives, and these murders are still happening, then one can only assume that it must serve no personal or political gain for the government to take action and stop these things…or possibly that these killers are ignored because it will cause someone to lose votes on Election Day if they address them...or maybe the system is about greed and power and not actually about protecting the innocent lives at all. In fact, our government supplies guns to Mexico and to the Middle East and is indirectly responsible for outrageous numbers of deaths and criminal activity each year, yet no one in the political world is “up in arms” about this. Why not? If it is about saving lives, then why does no one speak up about these murders?

The bottom line is that the agenda is really not about saving innocent lives at all. It is about controlling the population through the spreading of fear, by exploiting the few tragedies that involve a crazed criminal and a gun, to get people to beg for more protection through more law. The real agenda cannot be fulfilled until the people who believe in liberty and freedom are disarmed. Hitler may have said it best in this passage in Hitler’s Table Talk, 1941-1944: Secret Conversations with the English translation copyrighted 1953 by Weidenfeld and Nicolson. Part Three: 6 February – 7 September 1942:

 

“The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to allow the subject races to possess arms. History shows that all conquerors who have allowed their subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by so doing. Indeed, I would go so far as to say that the supply of arms to the underdogs is a sine qua non for the overthrow of any sovereignty”- Adolf Hitler

 

I would say that if we are being honest, no one in their right mind can possibly believe that taking the guns away from law abiding citizens will stop criminals from getting guns. Criminals will always have guns, and we, the law-abiding citizens, will need a way to stop them. The responsibility that lies with the government seems to be to protect people from the criminals without limiting your freedom to own a firearm to protect our family? The real issue here is not guns, it is control. People have always killed one another…if not with guns, then with spears and swords, and if not with swords, then with fists and stones. It’s not guns fault that we choose to kill, it’s ours. I believe that making laws to restrict those individuals who will abide the law from owning a gun - a law that criminals won’t follow anyway – is not a reasonable solution at all. Our focus in this country needs to be directed towards the criminal and not towards the weapon of the criminal. After all, according to the FBI, the most popular weapon of homicide in this country is the baseball bat, not the gun.

The real political issue here is not about lives, or guns, or criminals…it is about control. History shows that very bad things happen when a government confiscates the guns of its citizens. It is an undisputed fact that gun control and gun confiscation has preceded every instance of genocide in the 20th century. So, it’s time for you to establish your true agenda. Are you interested in saving lives? If so, then start by focusing on big tobacco and every abortion clinic in the country. Start focusing on locking the criminals up and keeping them locked up. Start focusing on fixing the corruption in our judicial system and our political arena. If lives are your concern, then attack the gang problem and stiffen the punishment for people who drive drunk. If you are worried about saving lives, focus on these 2+ million lives that are lost each year, and stop acting like the 11,000 lives taken by guns is the most serious problem that the innocent people of this country face. If your agenda is to be politically correct as you follow those in power, who secretly want to control and manipulate, then you better start using your freedom, which is provided to you by men who fight for it with guns, and start praying to whomever you are free to believe in about your upcoming choices. You will be the one that will live with them, you will be held accountable for them, and you will be judged accordingly for them.

As a member of government you were sworn in to protect our Constitutional rights against any threat, foreign or domestic. You are a representative who is employed by the people, and who is responsible for the interest of the people. If you choose to promote any gun legislation, which violates our second amendment right to bear arms against tyranny in government, under the false pretense that it is about saving lives – all while you hypocritically look the other way on abortion, drunk driving, and tobacco’s influence on the innocent lives of this country - you will have to live with the consequences which your choice will bring. When you lose your position because you chose to be politically correct, it will be your fault. When your family and friends and neighbors and co-workers fall victim to criminals with guns, you will have to live with the fact that you supported disarming law abiding citizens and you gave the power to the criminal. When the people of this country are forced to rise up against the tyranny of governmental dictatorship, just as our four fathers did, they will hold you, and all those who voted to disregard the very Constitution which allows you your freedom, responsible for your actions. If you choose to promote gun control and/or confiscation on the American people, know that you are disregarding the oath that you took upon receiving the office you hold and committing the crime of treason against this great country and it’s people. And when the country falls into turmoil or civil war because the people are enraged about the choices you have made to take their rights away, you will be held accountable. When innocent lives are lost at the hands of the American Military or the UN officers who come to confiscate guns, their blood will be on your hands. When the country you hold dear to your heart is no longer “the land of the free and home of the brave”, your children will have you to thank, and then they will still have to face the terrible future that the new world holds. Do not think that you are off the people’s radar. Do not think that your vote doesn’t get noticed. Do not think that you are above reproach or your decision will not affect you directly. The United States of America was founded by men who took liberty and freedom seriously, who used guns to go to war with the people who tried to oppress them, and who were prepared to die defending that freedom. Do not think that this country has none of these men and women left. We are the bloodline of the patriots who founded this great nation. We are the descendants of the men who wrote the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. You have a choice to make and you are on notice…you will be held accountable by the citizens of this country, by your loved ones, and by God for your choice. Choose wisely.

God bless America and her people