Firearms Licensing

Friends,
On 9 January 2009, Congressman Bobby Rush (D-IL) introduced H.R. 45 (http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:h45ih.txt.pdf) which, if passed, will require anyone purchasing a firearm to obtain a license to do so. Additionally, it will require that all sales will be recorded. This bill is being called the “Blair Holt’s Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009.”

H.R. 45 is contrary to the intent and letter of the 2nd amendment. I offer a couple of quotes by our Founders:

[The Constitution preserves] the advantage of being armed which Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation... (where) the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms." ---James Madison, The Federalist Papers, No. 46.

"No free man shall ever be de-barred the use of arms. The strongest reason for the people to retain their right to keep and bear arms is as a last resort to protect themselves against tyranny in government."Thomas Jefferson

Registration and confiscation of firearms was one of the first actions Adolph Hitler took in the subjugation of “inferior” people. On November 8, 1938, The New York Times reported,

The Berlin Police President, Count Wolf Heinrich von Helldorf, announced that as a result of a police activity in the last few weeks the entire Jewish population of Berlin had been 'disarmed' with the confiscation of 2,569 hand weapons, 1,702 firearms and 20,000 rounds of ammunition. Any Jews still found in possession of weapons without valid licenses are threatened with the severest punishment.

This led up to Kristallnacht (The Night of Broken Glass) on November 10, the night the Nazis went through Berlin and smashed and looted all things Jewish, shops, temples, stores, everything. The Jews did not have any way to protect themselves or their property.

The Nazi story is probably the most well-known but there have been many other examples of government abuse of its citizens. Turkey instituted gun control in 1911. From 1915 to 1917, a million and a half defenseless Armenians were exterminated by the government. Joseph Stalin established gun control in 1929 and over the next 24 years, until his death, 20 million dissidents were exterminated by his military and secret police.

Looking at the immediate consequences of H.R. 45, we here in the US have already seen the result of gun control. Washington DC, our capitol, had a strict gun ban in place for decades. Chicago has had nearly as restrictive gun regulations in place. Those are two of the most dangerous cities in the country. The reason for that is simple. Law abiding citizens refrain from owning guns because it is against the law. They have respect for the laws of our land, no matter that they cause these same law abiding citizens to be in danger of their lives. But if guns are against the law in these cities, why are citizens in danger; obviously, because the bad guys don’t give a hoot about the laws.

Look at the callous murder of two teenagers here in Colorado Springs last Thursday. What was the trigger for the event, the theft of an IPOD. Two kids were killed because of an IPOD. The police have tagged this as a gang killing. The gangs do not care about laws. That puts the rest of us at their mercy. I am not implying that the two young men who were killed were innocent bystanders. I have no idea what their situation was. But the fact that this event happened at all points to how dangerous our world is just from the criminal element. The young man who was arrested for the murder has freely admitted to his criminal act, with no apparent remorse.

Now a group of gun-grabbers wants to make it even more dangerous for law abiding citizens by forcing us to get a license to purchase firearms. I find this to be unacceptable behavior on the part of an elected official. All military personnel are required to swear to “uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States.” Does this requirement not extend to our Congressmen and Senators?

I urge all Americans to contact their Congressman and urge that they vigorously oppose this legislation.

As always, I welcome comments and discussion.

Dan