90 lines
4.3 KiB
Plaintext
90 lines
4.3 KiB
Plaintext
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GUN CONTROL
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A Libertarian Outlook
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by Gerald Schneider, Ph.D.
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"Guns don't kill people; people kill people" is more true
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than gun control advocates admit. Look at the number of murders
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committed each year _without_ guns. Stabbing deaths occur as
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often as gun deaths in this area and elsewhere. Would those who
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favor gun control also call for knife control?
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Do you think persons intent on murder are not imaginative
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enough to kill without guns or knives? I recall the 1982 murder
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of a woman with a sledgehammer by her estranged husband at a
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nearby shopping center. Watch how quickly the art of poisoning
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returns should other weapons be outlawed.
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Prejudice Against Guns
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Face it: People who want government enforced gun control are
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prejudiced against guns and gun owners. Having already made up
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their minds that guns are inherently evil, they reject facts to
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the contrary. They forget that ordinary citizens own guns
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primarily for hunting, target shooting, and as collectibles, as
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well as for self-defense.
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Worse than being prejudiced, those wanting laws to control
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gun ownership are dangerous! For the doubtful possibility of
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saving some innocent lives, they would deny ordinary citizens
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their right to keep and bear arms. These are the same people who
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would use the force of government to deny you other human rights
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as well, which do not fit their ideas about society. That is
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anti-liberal!
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Guns for Self-Defense
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When it comes to self-defense, guns are important to some
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people, especially women, the poor, and the elderly. Consider
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how many rapes, muggings, and burglaries are prevented by a
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potential victim flashing a gun.
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Even so-called "Saturday night specials" will frighten
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criminals away. In fact, these cheap guns are the choice of poor
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people, who are most likely to be victimized and least able to
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afford expensive guns for self-defense. The show of any gun can
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be a deterrent to crime.
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A recent attempted robbery in a nearby town was foiled when
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the victim stabbed and shot one of his assailants, scaring off
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the other two. We can only guess what would have happened to the
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victim if defense with weapons were not possible--but he would
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have been robbed for certain.
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A Protection from Government
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Those lobbying for laws to control guns assume the
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government police will always be benign. There are many formerly
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free countries that are now dictatorships where citizens made
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that mistake. Just imagine what government officials would do
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with records of gun ownership if our government became
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totalitarian.
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Not all that many years ago, a gun might have been the only
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thing that saved some blacks in this country. Even government
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police posed a danger to you if you were black and became
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"uppity." How easy it is for those who would have the government
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control guns to forget!
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Guns for Innocent Citizens
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Guns, of course, are not for everyone. But guns should be
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available to innocent citizens with no government hassle.
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As George Orwell of _1984_ fame wrote in his _Essays, Volume
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IV:_ "...Though I have no doubt exceptions can be brought
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forward, I think the following rule would be found generally
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true: that in ages in which the dominant weapon is cheap and
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simple, the common people will have a chance..."
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Reprinted from THE WHEATON NEWS of Wheaton, Maryland, Aug.
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7, 1986. For a one year subscription to Mr. Schneider's biweekly
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"Libertarian Outlook" column, send $15 to: Gerald Schneider, 8750
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Georgia Ave., Suite 1410-B, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Copyright
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1986 Gerald Schneider, Ph.D.
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(This is the text of one of a series of eight topical Libertarian
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outreach leaflets produced by the Libertarian Party of Skagit
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County, WA. The leaflets have a panel with National LP member-
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ship information, with a space for other LP groups to stamp their
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own address and phone number. Samples and a bulk price list/
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order form are available from: Libertarian Party of Skagit
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County, P.O. Box 512, Anacortes, WA 98221.)
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