Door to Door Gun Confiscation Survivor

Gun Watch ^ | 6 November, 2013 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

You meet some interesting people when you hand out cards announcing that you are a member of the new media.   My new friend, Limmuel, above, caught my attention when he cautioned me against believing that "It could never happen here."

Limmuel was only a young boy when it happened to him and his family in the Philippines in 1972.  His father told him the details for years afterward. 

Limmuel's father was a security guard at a high school in the Philippines when Ferdinand Marcos issued this order pursuant to Proclamation No. 1081 dated September 21, 1972.

"NOW, THEREFORE, I, Ferdinand E. Marcos, Commander-in-Chief of all the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and pursuant to Proclamation No.1081 dated September 21, 1972, do hereby order that henceforth and until otherwise ordered by me or by my duly designated representative, no person shall keep, possess or carry outside of his residence any firearm unless such person is duly authorized to keep, possess or carry any such firearm and any person violating this order shall forthwith be arrested and taken into custody and held for the duration of the emergency unless ordered released by me or by my duly designated representative."

 As a security guard, Limmuel's father received advance notice of the coming house to house search for weapons.  He carefully buried his personal weapons to prevent them from being confiscated, retaining only his officially issued firearm in the home.   The search was conducted, and no private arms were found.   I suspect that the guns that were buried were not on any "registration" list.  

Limmuel says that the guns that were confiscated were never returned to their owners, even though the confiscation was supposed to be "temporary" at the time.   Limmuel clearly remembers living under martial law, with a 10 pm curfew for all activities.   He says that checkpoints were very common, that vehicles were often searched, but that bribery was also common and that a small bribe would relieve you of the inconvenience of the search.

No two countries are exactly alike, but the Philippines has a long history of association with the United States.  Limmuel believes that a current push for gun control in the Philippines results from an emulation of U.S. policies.

As a cautionary tale, after a number of years, Limmuel's father tried to retrieve the firearms that he had buried, but could not remember their exact location.  They remain buried, a find for future treasure hunters or archaeologists.

I told Limmuel that if he did not wish to have his guns confiscated, that he could buy them privately in the United States, and then the government  would not know that he had them.

"I know", he said. "I have".  He also said that there are ongoing negotiations between the communist rebels and the government of the Philippines.  The government, he says, insists that the rebels disarm.  The rebels, he says, will never give up their guns.

The Philippines has become a world leader in the production of sophisticated guns in small, semi-clandestine workshops.


©2013 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch

[B4Ranch]

It only requires a few to do it and the word will spread quickly amongst the cops and mayors. Just don’t make any threats. Tell them what could happen if they authorize violence against us citizens.

[B4Ranch]

“Perot espoused cordoning off minority neighborhoods because they were the ones causing 90% of the police reports.

Was he prejudiced against minorities? In today's world he sure would be called racist.

[ansel12]

If you dig into Perot, you find that he just wanted to do whatever Perot wanted to do, dictator style, strong-man style.

As long as he toned it down enough for a campaign, many heard it as just a strong leader, a forceful guy with strong beliefs etc. etc., but tune in closer and you discover that he didn’t have limits, of any kind, not constitutional, not morally, if kicking in doors without warrants to search entire communities of families was easy and a direct line to his accomplishing his goal, then it is what he wanted to do.

He was not a serious choice to be an American President.

[marktwain]

You have nailed Perot.

[AlexW]

Thanks for the bump. I will mention that in my five years here in the Philippines, I have yet to see a gun, except on police or guards. I do not know anyone that owns a gun or even mentions it.

On another note, super typhoon Haiyan, with winds of 260 kph is on a direct course to us (www.typhoon2000.com).
Wife is now preparing evacuation bags for tomorrow.
This has been a wild month for our area....just now recovering from the earthquake....shake, rattle and drown.

[knarf]

Thanx Al ... keep us posted as you can

We know electricity comes and goes .. but we worry and all those other lies friends say to each other

/8^)