What Do They Think?, by Mitchell McConnell

Special to TLE

It is depressing to think that Americans, who once literally led the world to freedom, have become so security-driven that they now seem willing to give up their God-given right to own firearms for the sake of feeling secure. Never mind that most people will never be exposed to any form of gun violence, much less be the target of it. The big-government socialists of both parties, with the help of the media, have vilified guns until they may just feel as though they can safely ban and confiscate some or all guns. Al Gore, the Democratic Presidential nominee for the year 2000 election, has come out explicitly for gun registration. Are they really so dumb? Do they really believe their own rhetoric that gun owners are illiterate back-woods types who are not aware of the long history of how gun control leads to gun registration leads to gun confiscation?

Guess what? They have a surprise coming. If they think that anything short of a full-scale military assault will get guns out of the hands of Constitution-respecting patriots, they have another thought coming. Of course, it is difficult to stage a full-scale military assault on the millions of gun owners spread across this country who will not passively hand over their weapons to the government. Despite the rise of SWAT teams in small-town America, there are not enough of them to go house by house without declaring a permanent state of martial law. Of course, that might have the unfortunate side effect of alarming at least some of the "security seekers" into taking up arms as well.

Recent confrontations such as at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado have shown pretty conclusively that for all of their huffing and puffing, most suburban SWAT teams are not willing to confront armed opponents unless they have overwhelming numerical superiority and firepower. Why take on someone who not only is willing to die to defend his freedom, but who also is a much better shot than you, just for a salary?

No government can permanently subdue an armed populace. They may be willing to put up with a lot of bloodshed to subdue their subjects, but even the elites will only go so far. That is why they will certainly try and disarm the people first. Those who trust that the resulting governors will always be benign have certainly spent their lives watching television and not studying history.

There is a message in here somewhere for the "movers and shakers" who are trying to undo over 200 years of freedom backed up by the people's militia. What makes you think that you will be safe once the confiscation starts? While you send the military against even some of the millions of Americans who will never give up their weapons, some of those millions will go after you. After all, it is you who made this into an end-game, not them.

Maybe after all is said and done, history will look back at the Sarah Bradys, Al Gores, Diane Feinsteins, Charles Schumers, and Hillary Clintons (to name only a few), and say "What were they thinking?"

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