“On every question of construction, let us carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed.”
-Thomas Jefferson
“That rifle hanging on the wall of the working-class flat or labourer’s cottage is the symbol of democracy. It is our job to see that it stays there.”
-George Orwell
We have enjoyed so much freedom for so long that we are perhaps in danger of forgetting how much blood it cost to establish the Bill of Rights.
-Felix Frankfurter
“Today we need a nation of Minute Men; citizens who are not only prepared to take up arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as a basic purpose of their daily life and who are willing to consciously work and sacrifice for that freedom. The cause of liberty, the cause of America, cannot succeed with any lesser effort.”
-John Kennedy January 29, 1961
“For those who have fought for it, freedom has a special flavor the protected will never know.”
–Unknown soldier
Did you Know?
History can teach us so much if we simply step back and listen. Many of the horrific events in our past seemed at the time needed, possibly a necessity for progress or even to secure our nation’s security. We later look back to find our noble and logical ideas were flawed and influenced by greed and fear.
President Andrew Jackson on May 28, 1830 signed into law The Indian Removal Act which authorized the president to negotiate with Indian tribes in the southern United States for their ancestral homelands which fell within state lines. In return the United States would grant them land rights west of the Mississippi. Many tribes relocated peaceably but other refused. Those that refused were later forcibly relocated by the United States government and later became known as the “Trail of Tears”, where thousands died from exposure, exhaustion and mal-nutrition.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942 authorized the incarceration and relocation of American citizens with an Executive Order. During World War II approximately 120,000 Japanese Americans (62% were US Citizens) were incarcerated and forced to relocate to internment camps. It was later determined in 1980 by an investigation opened by President Jimmy Carter that the Japanese American’s incarcerated showed little if any disloyalty to the United States and that the major motivator was racism and free.
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia on February 3, 2014 responded to a room full of law students and faculty “but you are kidding yourself if you think the same thing will not happen again” in response to a question about the Japanese American internment camps during World War II. He continued “That’s what happens, it was wrong, but I would not be surprised to see it happen again, in time of war. It’s no justification, but it is reality.”
Patriots Rising
The mentally ill and unstable individuals need our help! Unfortunately we do not have a system in place that can identify these individuals. Why? Because time travel and crystal balls are not currently available. Judging or punishing individuals for future crimes is a slippery slope and if anyone saw the movie Minority Report they will agree. So how do we stop the mentally ill from harming others? That’s a very good question and I’m still waiting to hear a valid answer.
Even though we are unable to predict the future our politicians and lawmakers think they can create laws to safeguard us against the future. Are you freakin’ kidding me! So let’s review some of their ideas:
Washington State is proposing a bill that would allow a Judge to confiscate your firearms if a family member or police officer feels you’re an extreme threat! So the next time you have an argument with a family member they could simple pick up the phone and report you. What if there’s no argument but they just don’t like firearms? What if your neighbor feels unsafe with firearms in your home and decides to call the police and report you as a violent individual?
In New York a retired Firefighter got into an argument with his son over a washing machine and his wife called the police. After everything was settled peacefully the police returned and confiscated his firearm collection. Why? Another man was seen by a doctor for depression and the doctor determined he was not a threat to himself or others but his firearms were confiscated. These are only two stories that demonstrate our system is broke. There are thousands of military veterans that are unable to own firearms because they were treated for PTSD.
We can learn a lot from history. If we, as a society decide to go down this slippery slope we will be opening a door that cannot be shut. Does anyone remember the Salem witch hunts? During the Salem witch hunt hundreds of innocent people were put to death because a family member or neighbor thought they were a witch. We look back at this time in history and ask ourselves how that could have happened? Well folks, its beginning again and if we let it happen a hundred years from now they will be asking the same thing of us.
Yes, we have mentally ill and unstable individuals who want to harm others and yes they should be identified and treated but I ask you this: Who determines this? Is it a family member, relative, neighbor, police or the government? Is it determined by your beliefs, a post, or hobbies? Maybe your religious beliefs?
Why should we would stop at confiscating firearms. If someone is truly mentally unstable and sets out to harm others why not confiscate knifes, hammers, matches, vehicles, etc, etc. If someone is truly a threat to others they will find a weapon in anything they pick up.
We are a broken and scared society. We let the fears of others override our better judgment. We simply follow the masses. A child makes an imaginary gun with his/her hand and they get suspended from school. A group of boys are playing cops and robbers in their front yard and they get suspended. Why and how have we fallen so low that simple things you and I did as children are now reason for suspension? Could these actions be determined to be signs of early mental illness? Should we simple play it safe and commit all children that play with imaginary guns to a mental facility?
Let’s pull our heads out of our asses and say enough is enough! Let’s not start another Salem witch hunt and let’s stop predicting the future.
Our cruel and unrelenting enemy leaves us only the choice of brave resistance, or the most abject submission. We have, therefore, to resolve to conquer or die.
-George Washington
Un-freakin believable! Gun control group Coalition to Stop Gun Violence wants Fox News affiliate WTTF to fire Emily Miller, an investigative reporter. They claim she violated journalistic ethics when she appeared and spoke at a rally on January 19th held by Virginia Citizens Defense League. During Emily Miller’s speech she said that Washington, D.C. “is not part of America, because they don’t recognize the Second Amendment.” I happen to agree with her and so do many American’s.
Citing the Society of Professional Journalists, the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence asserts that Emily Miller did not “act independently” by avoiding “conflicts of interest, real or perceived.” I’m sorry, but how many journalist out there have sided and voiced their opinion on Gun-control? The list is long and filled with high profile Journalists from around the nation. So my question is why haven’t they demanded that these other journalists be fired for violating their ethics? I know, it’s a stupid question. They are fine with a journalist who sides with their agenda and have absolutely no issues supporting the spreading of their lies.
If Fox News caves to these demands I will have one less news source to follow.
Patriots Rising