Guys,
This was originally written in response to a gun confiscation article
on a conservative/libertarian site I often read. In response to
these articles and columns, many gun owners say 'molon labe', which
is Greek for "come and get them". The phrase, molon
labe, was first uttered by the Spartan king, Leonidas, at the Battle
of Thermopylae. He said this in response to the Persian king
Xerxes' command telling the Spartans to hand over their weapons prior
to the start of the battle. Anyway, I was unable to post this
on the website in question. Since this was too good to let
disappear in to the ether of cyberspace; since this is a good
follow-on for my last post; I'm posting it here instead. It
starts below...
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You gun owners are all talk-molon labe, my ass! When the government
comes for your guns, you will not resist at all; you will meekly hand
them over with no protest. Why do I say this? Because one, you all
gave in on the background check, which transformed the Second
Amendment from a right to a PRIVILEGE. Two, many of you go about
proudly declaring that you're 'legal gun owners'. Three, you all
meekly submit to the copious infringements on your Second Amendment
rights. I'll expand on my points...
WRT point number one, the Second Amendment has ALREADY BEEN GUTTED by
the Brady Law. Every time you go into a gun shop, you fill out your form 4473; then, the salesman at the counter calls the NICS. There, a
gov't bureaucrat tells the gun salesman whether or not he can sell
you the gun. Does this not amount to seeking permission to buy a gun?
It does. Sorry guys, but if you have to get permission to do
something, then that something is not a right; it is a PRIVILEGE-duh!
Let
me address this from a different, more familiar angle. What is it
that the DMV always says in its literature? That driving is a
privilege, not a right, correct? How does one go about securing the
privilege to drive? By securing a driver's license issued by your
respective state, right? And what is a license? Black's Law
Dictionary says this: "A permission, accorded by a competent
authority, conferring the right to do some act which without such
authorization would be illegal..." You can go view the Black's
Law Dictionary definition of license here. The Second
Amendment is GONE, Folks, and it happened because gun owners gave in
on the background check, and they have meekly submitted to it ever
since.
That brings me to my second point: how the vast majority of gun
owners loudly and proudly proclaim that they are 'legal gun owners'.
I have a problem with that phrase, which I will discuss now...
All of the laws and regulations that to which gun owners must submit
are infringements on the Second Amendment. Yeah, I said it!
For example, if you want to carry your pistol with you in
public, you need to get a permit, do you not? It's called a
concealed carry permit. What is this permit for? So you
can carry a means of protection with you, and do so with government
permission. Isn't self preservation supposed to be a right?
What about the background check? Is that not seeking
permission from a gov't bureaucrat to buy a gun? What about
getting a state permit to buy a gun, like you have to do in New
Jersey, where I'm from? Did gun owners oppose that? No,
they did not; they meekly went along, just like they do with all the
other government INFRINGEMENTS on the Second Amendment. What
about the inability to order guns by mail, and have them delivered to
your house? You USED to be able to do that, you know. The
Founding Fathers had THIS position WRT keeping and bearing arms: if
you wouldn't trust a man to carry a gun in public, then he shouldn't
be free in the first place. That is MY position on guns.
That segues to my third and final point: that gun owners meekly and
quietly submit to the numerous and onerous regulations that infringe
on their Second Amendment rights. I'll cite the example of a
buddy of mine from across the river in PA. He went on Armslist
looking for a gun a year or so ago; he was interested in an AR-15, I
think. In his state, one does not have to go to a gun shop to
do an official background check and transfer for a rifle; only
pistols, per PA law, require doing a transfer via a FFL. That
is to say that two guys can get together, do a private sale (i.e.
exchange cash or goods for the rifle), and be done with it. The
guy he contacted on Armslist INSISTED on doing an official transfer,
even though state law does not REQUIRE one for a rifle or long gun.
THAT is what I'm talking about! You gun owners ALREADY
meekly submit to the numerous infringements on your Second Amendment
rights! Why should I believe that you all of a sudden have a
line in the sand WRT gov't confiscation? After all, you've
ALREADY submitted to government dictates on numerous occasions.
In closing, you gun owners are all talk; yeah, I said it! You
can cry 'molon labe' all you want, but I don't buy it. You
didn't put up a fight over the background check, even though that
effectively GUTTED the Second Amendment. Moreover, you continue
to go along with it! If you truly had the RIGHT to keep and
bear arms, you wouldn't need to seek government permission now, would
you? A right is something you can do WITHOUT government
knowledge, interference, or consent. Can you do that when it
comes to guns? I rest my case! Molon labe, my ass...
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That concludes my thoughts on the state of the Second Amendment here
in America. Until next time...
MarkyMark
