Universal Background Checks Will Lead to Disarming of Americans

0
1522

Dear Editor:

This is a response to the lengthy article in the Jan.24 issue on the recent pro-Second Amendment rally in Richmond (“Thousands Descend on Richmond to Protest Proposed Gun Laws”), and the reports from the legislature by Sen. Linwood Lewis and Del. Robert Bloxom. The concern by Virginia gun owners is valid and reasonable. Gov. Ralph Northam has stated his opposition to the ownership of military/militia grade firearms and would enthusiastically sign any legislation restricting or banning such firearms in the Commonwealth. This matches the actions nationwide of tight restrictions or outright bans on whole classes of militia-grade firearms.

America is founded on the belief that We the People are the ultimate sovereign in this country. Virginia gun owners instinctively know that sovereignty must be backed up with physical power. The Second Amendment “right of the people to keep and bear Arms” is the basis of our claim to citizen sovereignty over government. The very idea of ‘powerless sovereignty’ would be laughable were it not so dangerous. The past 100 years have seen tens of millions of defenseless civilians murdered by governments worldwide. Don’t think that it can’t happen here. It already has. The near extermination of Native American Indians and the enslavement of millions of Africans was done by government power.

The continuing calls to ban militia grade “assault weapons” is critical because the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights do not mention sports, hunting or recreation therefore such sporting-purpose firearms have no real protection. The Constitution and Bill of Rights do mention the militia and the right to arms. The Supreme Court in its U.S. v Miller case (1939) made it clear that in their view the only firearms explicitly protected by the Second Amendment are those that are “part of the ordinary military equipment or could contribute to the common defense.” If a ban on militia grade firearms were ever successful, the Second Amendment would be struck down as meaningless.

American gun owners have already seen the total civil disarmament of the people of Great Britain and are seeing the piecemeal disarmament of the people of Australia and New Zealand as current events. The forces for civil disarmament in America are real, active and relentless. The key to disarmament is gun owner identification and firearms inventory lists. Universal background checks for all gun sales can not work without these owner/inventory lists. Laws requiring this information will be the noose slipped around the necks of American gun owners.

Brian Bloedel,
Accomac

Previous articleSupervisors Should Rethink Improvements
Next articleDiane Mapp Stewart