textfiles/politics/GUNS/guncontr.lft

90 lines
4.3 KiB
Plaintext
Raw Blame History

This file contains invisible Unicode characters

This file contains invisible Unicode characters that are indistinguishable to humans but may be processed differently by a computer. If you think that this is intentional, you can safely ignore this warning. Use the Escape button to reveal them.

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