Posted on 02/17/2003 5:43:46 AM PST by SJackson
"About the time that Daddy left to fight the big war/I saw my first pistol in the general store/In the general store, when I was thirteen/Thought it was the finest thing I ever had seen/So I asked if I could have one someday when I grew up/Mama dropped a dozen eggs, she really blew up/She really blew up and I didn't understand/Mama said the pistol is the Devil's right hand.''
Steve Earle's ''The Devil's Right Hand''
Ihunt. It's the most intense and rewarding thing I do in the outdoors.
To hunt, I own guns.
They are my most valued possessions.
When I was 13, Dad gave me the family .22 rifle as my most cherished Christmas gift. When I turned 18, my 12-gauge shotgun and my deer rifle were my first important life purchases.
The only thing I asked Dad to bequeath me in his will is an ancient, open-bore, single-shot, 12-gauge shotgun my Grandpa Bowman gave him as his first gun as a boy.
Guns come with meanings for me, come with stories and histories.
So I watch with more than passing interest when an anti-gun person such as Mayor Daley steps into the political arena with gun legislation.
The latest foray came Thursday.
My first thought was, "Oh, God, not again.''
Then I picked through the highlights.
As a hunter and human being, I agreed with almost all of them.
As hunters, we must learn to separate ourselves from the gun nuts, those who would oppose every firearm restriction. Otherwise, we'll be lumped in the crackpot pile.
*A ban on military-style, semi-automatic assault weapons. I absolutely agree. It should have been done years ago. The problem for hunters is the definition of assault rifles; otherwise, it in no way affects my right to own a shotgun or rifle for hunting.
*Restrict handgun purchases to one per person per month. For my money, you could ban handguns completely. That in no way affects my right to own a shotgun or rifle for hunting.
*Gun fingerprinting. I have no problem with that other than it is another governmental intrusion into our lives. It in no way affects my right to own a shotgun or rifle for hunting.
*Lengthening the waiting period for taking possession of a handgun from three days to 10. Hey, make it a month, a year, 10 years. It in no way affects my right to own a shotgun or rifle for hunting.
*Require annual background checks of those who hold Firearm Owners Identification Cards. I think that will be a logistical nightmare and should not be enacted for that reason. Otherwise, check all you want. It in no way affects my right to own a shotgun or rifle for hunting.
*Increase the cost of a FOID card. It annoys me. It will cost me. But it in no way affects my right to own a shotgun or rifle for hunting.
*Mandate background checks of people who buy firearms at gun shows. Absolutely. That should have been in place years ago. That in no way affects my right to own a shotgun or rifle for hunting.
*State licensing of gun dealers and a state database of gun information. Go ahead. I think it will be a logistical nightmare; otherwise, it in no way affects my right to own a shotgun or rifle for hunting.
*Increased penalty for secret compartments in vehicles for weapons. Throw the book at them. That in no way affects my right to own a shotgun or rifle for hunting.
Daley's proposals make sense. But then, I am a hunter who owns guns, not a gun nut. Guns don't mean more than life to me.
Dale Bowman can be reached at outdoordb@aol.com.
"Bowman's Outdoor Line'' is heard on "Outdoors with Mike Norris'' (3-4 p.m. Thursdays, 1280-AM).
I'm not talking about a para-military group. They are targets. I'm talking about a natural swelling up of resistance due to tyranny, including your neighbor Mr. Peabody who no-one knew had a rifle.
And you are right, it is going to take a serious issue, like the deployment of UN troops on our soil, to cause that sort of a reaction.
Rightfully so, the only type of issue worth revolting over.
Like tanked economy, loss of income, hunger and time to dwell on their oppressors and misery.
Stop the attacks on our God given Rights by the extreme wacko left-wing anti-gun nazis'!
The Right Of The People To Keep And Bear Arms Shall Not Be Infringed!
An Armed Citizen, Is A Safe Citizen!
Guns Save Lives!
No Guns, No Rights!
Freedom Is Worth Fighting For!
Molon Labe!
FMCDH!
Idiot. I have nothing but contempt for the mushbrained. 'Pod
This guy is a fool.
Bullcrap. There are many semi-auto hunting firearms. BTW - WTF is an assault weapon? Assault rifle? They are already class III.
*Restrict handgun purchases to one per person per month. For my money, you could ban handguns completely. That in no way affects my right to own a shotgun or rifle for hunting.
Bullcrap. You think they will stop there? What about handgun hunting.
*Gun fingerprinting. I have no problem with that other than it is another governmental intrusion into our lives. It in no way affects my right to own a shotgun or rifle for hunting.
How many crimes will this solve.
*Lengthening the waiting period for taking possession of a handgun from three days to 10. Hey, make it a month, a year, 10 years. It in no way affects my right to own a shotgun or rifle for hunting.
memememememememememmeemmemememe - see a pattern. *Require annual background checks of those who hold Firearm Owners Identification Cards. I think that will be a logistical nightmare and should not be enacted for that reason. Otherwise, check all you want. It in no way affects my right to own a shotgun or rifle for hunting.
Yet.
*Increase the cost of a FOID card. It annoys me. It will cost me. But it in no way affects my right to own a shotgun or rifle for hunting.
same ole song and dance
*Mandate background checks of people who buy firearms at gun shows. Absolutely. That should have been in place years ago. That in no way affects my right to own a shotgun or rifle for hunting.
We HAVE that.
*State licensing of gun dealers and a state database of gun information. Go ahead. I think it will be a logistical nightmare; otherwise, it in no way affects my right to own a shotgun or rifle for hunting.
It'll increase the cost of firearms dumbass.
I'm going to say it right here. This selfish gun grabbing bastard is the WORST TYPE OF GUN GRABBER.
I'm also going to say this. You don't have a right to hunt, and if I didn't know that there were good gunowners in Illinois, I'd push for a hunting ban in Illinois just to piss this guy off.
Outstanding letter! You just described me in the paragraph above. And like you, I quit hunting years ago, but used a one-shot muzzle loader when I did.
It is time to speak plainly for the good citizens and patriots of this nation who believe unbendingly in the Constitution of the United States of America.
Though foreign governments may disarm their subjects, we will not go down that road. We will not disarm and see our freedoms stripped away. The lessons of history are numerous, clear and bloody. A disarmed population inevitably becomes an enslaved population. A disarmed population is without power, reduced to childlike obedience to – and dependent upon – the organs of a parental state.
A disarmed population will lose – either piecemeal or in one sweeping act – those basic rights for which the citizens of America risked their lives and fortunes over 200 years ago. We will not disarm. The right to self protection – the internal directive of every living creature, be it mouse or man – is the most fundamental right of all. It is the right that must be exercised against the predators of the streets, against the predators hidden within agencies of law enforcement, and against the most dangerous predators of all – those to be found in government, whose insidious grasping for power is relentless and never-ending. We will not disarm.
Not in the face of robbers, rapists and murderers who prey upon our families and friends. Nor in the face of police and bureau agents who would turn a blind eye to the Constitution, who would betray the birthright of their countrymen; nor in the face of politicians of the lowest order – those who pander to the ignorant, the weak, the fearful, the naïve; those indebted to a virulent strain of the rich who insulate themselves from the dangers imposed upon other Americans and then preach disarmament. We will not surrender our handguns.
We will not surrender our hunting arms. And we will not surrender our firearms of military pattern or utility, nor their proper furnishings, nor the right to buy, to sell, or to manufacture such items. Firearms of military utility, which serve well and nobly in times of social disturbance as tools of defense for the law abiding, serve also in the quiet role of prevention, against both the criminal and the tyrannical. An armed citizenry – the well regulated militia of the Second Amendment, properly armed with military firearms – is a powerful deterrant, on both conscious and subconcious levels, to those inclined towards governmental usurpations.
An armed citizenry stands as a constant reminder to those in power that, though they may violate our rights temporarily, they will not do so endlessly and without consequence. And should Americans again be confronted with the necessity of – may God forbid it – throwing off the chains of a tyrannical and suffocating regime, firearms designed to answer the particular demands of warfare will provide the swiftest and most decisive means to this end. Any law which prohibits or limits a citizen’s possession of firearms of military utility or their proper furnishings, provides an open window through which a corrupt government will crawl to steal away the remainder of our firearms and our liberties.
Any law which prohibits or limits a citizen’s possession of firearms of military utility or their proper furnishings, being directly contrary to the letter and spirit of the Second Amendment, is inimical to the Constitution, to the United States of America, and to it’s citizens. Now – today – we are witnessing the perilous times foreseen by the architects of the Constitution. These are times when our government is demanding – in the guise of measures for the common good – the relinquishment of several rights guaranteed to Americans in the Constitution, foremost among which is the right to keep and bear arms for our own defense. These are times when our government has abdicated its primary responsibility -- to provide for the security of its citizens. Swift and sure punishment of outlaws is absent, and in its place is offered the false remedy of disarming of the law-abiding. Where this unconstitutional action has been given the force of law it has failed to provide relief and has produced greater social discord. This discord in turn now serves as the false basis for the demand that we give up other rights, and for the demand for more police, more agents of bureaucratic control to enforce the revocation of these rights. Legislators, justices and law officers must bear in mind that the foundation of their duties is to uphold the fundamental law of the land – the Constitution.
They must bear in mind that the unconstitutional act of disarming one’s fellow citizens will also disarm one’s parents, spouse, brothers, sisters, children and children’s children. They must bear in mind that there are good citizens who – taking heed of George Washington’s belief that arms are the liberty teeth of the people – will not passively allow these teeth to be torn out. There are good citizens who – taking heed of Benjamin Franklin’s admonition that those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety – will surrender not one of their rights. Those who eat away at our right to own and use firearms are feeding on the roots of a plant over two centuries old, a plant whose blossom is the most free, most powerful nation ever to exist on the face of this planet. The right to keep and bear arms is the taproot of this plant.
All other rights were won at the point of a gun and will endure only at the point of a gun. Could they speak, millions upon millions of this world’s dead souls would testify to this truth. Millions upon millions of the living can so testify today. Now – today – is a critical moment in our history. Will we Americans passively lie down before a government disdainful of it’s best citizens? Or will we again declare: WE are the government, government functions at our behest, and it may not rescind our sacred rights? Will we place our faith in public servants who behave like our masters? Or will we place our faith in the words and deeds of the daring, far-seeing men and women whose blood, sweat and tears brought forth this great nation? Will we believe those who assure us that the police officer will shield us from the criminal? Or will we believe our eyes and ears, presented every day with news of our unarmed neighbors falling prey in their homes, on our streets, in our places of work and play? Will we bow our heads to cowards and fools who will not learn and do not understand the lessons of human history? Or will we stand straight and assume the daily tasks and risks that liberty entails? Will we ignore even the lessons of this present era – which has seen the cruel oppression of millions on the continents of Europe, Asia, Africa and South America – and believe that the continent of North America is immune to such political disease? Or will we wisely accept the realities of the world, wisely listen to and make use of the precautions provided by our ancestors? Will we be deceived by SHAMELESS LIARS who say that disarmament equals safety, helplessness equals strength, patriotism equals criminality? Or will we mark the words of our forefathers, who wrote in plain language: The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed? Let us make known: We will choose the latter option in every case.
Legislators: Do your duty to your country. Uphold the Constitution as you swore to do. Do not shame yourselves by knocking loose the mighty keystone of this great republic – the right to bear arms.
Justices: Do your duty to country. Examine the origins of our right to weaponry and uphold the letter and spirit of the Constitution.
Lawmen: Do your duty to your country. Do not be misguided and misused. Your task is to serve and protect – not to oppress, to disarm and to make helpless your countrymen. To the blind, the ignorant, the apathetic, the safe and sheltered, these may seem to be concerns of another age. They are not. They are as vital as they ever have been through history. For times may change but human nature does not. And it is to protect forever against the evil in human nature that the Founding Fathers set aside certain rights as inviolable.
For these reasons we must now make known: We will not passively take the path that leads to tyranny. We will not go down that road.
WE WILL NOT DISARM.
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