A Distinction Without a Difference
The April 2023 edition of NRA’s “America’s 1st Freedom” magazine has a great article entitled “10 Things the Mainstream Media Doesn’t Want You to Know About Concealed Carry“. It’s well worth reading and I encourage you to do so. The second of the ten points discussed in the article is the transition in the language used by the media and politicians over the past ten or so years. For example, there has been a not-so-subtle shift in wording—now referring mostly to “gun-safety measures”, as opposed to “gun-control laws”. This turn of phrase is not accidental and it has a significant impact when gun owners are trying to have a rational discussion with those who would like to see all guns banned. It’s the same tactic used when they refer to “gun violence” instead of “violent crime”. It takes the focus off the criminals and puts it on the guns. Guns are therefore evil and since people don’t want evil amongst us, it stands to reason that we just need to get rid of guns. Right? NO. Words, as someone reminded me recently, are important. And the use of these words is a distinction WITHOUT a difference.
The words “gun-control” are threatening, but those who want a gun-free United States have gotten smarter. They speak of “gun-safety”, which sounds like a good societal goal. We all want to feel safe. “Gun-safety” sounds like a good thing. But it is the same draconian Beto O’Rourke beating on the drum, “Hell yes, we’re going to come for your AR-15s!” that has been going on for years. It just sounds better. It sounds more reasonable
A Deliberate Political Pivot
And therein lies the problem. It is not just semantics. It is a deliberate political pivot. An industry-wide effort to make us seem as though we would prefer an unsafe world. You must be an anarchist to not want “gun-safety”!
Make no mistake. It is “gun-control” (aka “people-control”) plain and simple and that, in this country, is unconstitutional. This has been borne out in several important court cases over the past fifteen years (Heller, McDonald, Bruen). We have an unalienable, God-given right to keep and bear arms, for our own protection and the protection of others. We have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Those words matter.
Stay vigilant. Take Action. Join Iowa Firearms Coalition – HERE:
I think it’s time we stop harping on the government’s corrupt violations of the Constitution, as it is long gone. If the Second Amendment’s purpose was to empower the citizenry to have the ability to protect themselves against a corrupt government, that would mean the common citizen should be able to buy, own, or manufacture the same weaponry in use by the government and they should be able to organize a militia large and strong enough to fight a tyrannical government. Neither of which is possible or even legal anymore. Those so-called “rights” are gone. Therefore, the purchase of a fully armed M1 Abrams tank or Joint Strike Fighter aside, the people should be able to own fully automatic rifles, light machineguns, and heavy machineguns or anti-aircraft machinery, which we cannot. Albeit, we have our State’s National Guard for those purposes, as well as pretending to be our “representatives” of a well-regulated militia, the individual citizen should start thinking about having the ability to defend “themselves and their property”, with or without a 2nd Amendment in place. Grass roots protection. Simply buying a firearm is not enough. Simply knowing the law is not enough. Basic survival skills should be considered essential and knowing how to “use” your firearm effectively as well as safely is going to take precedence over whining over the 2nd Amendment, because our parents, grandparents and great grandparents allowed this government to abolish the 2nd Amendment. Protect yourself, your family and in some cases, your neighbor as long as your neighbor wants it because some neighbors are in cahoots with this tyranny we are seeing here in the US. With the new Red Flag laws, your neighbors can “report” you as a danger for having guns and by law the local government can disarm you, by force if necessary, and tie up your guns in litigation for years while they decide if you can “own” guns safely, according to your neighbor’s needs. You think that’s “semantics”? Think again. “Knowing” the law is a big part of survival now, especially the laws you don’t hear about.
Betoff O’Rourke is the perfect example of the Political Grifter. Running for an elected office that he has absolutely No chance of being elected to. As a means to live off of the campaign donations form 1 election cycle to the next. Just like Stacey Abrams.