A Time of Testing

Michael Bane on the new era of "hope and change".

For our part — those of us who profoundly and fundamentally believe that the Second Amendment is the defining plank of American liberty — our time of testing has come. It is important to remember that we have stood here before; we have seen the dark days come, and we have seen them go. We must truly, as the new President said, remain true to our forbearers and to our founding documents, because I fear he will not. We must be strong, because those who hold public office will likely be weak. We must be focused because surely our enemies will be.

A few days ago The Smallest Minority wrote about the Tottenham Outrage- an incident one hundred years ago when two armed robbers went on a shooting spree in England. Chased by police, members of the public not only joined in the pursuit but offered the unarmed cops their own firearms. In the space of just a century the UK has gone from a place where guns were so commonplace that an event like this occurred, to one where gun ownership is rare indeed and heavily regulated. Handguns and semi-auto rifles are completely banned. All it took was a series of laws which I'm sure were called common sense regulations at the time. A licence requirement to carry a weapon in public, then a licence to buy handguns, then registration...

Every gun control measure is a step towards the eventual disarmament of the public at large- house to house searches aren't necessary as the UK can show the world. Sometimes all it takes to kill a thriving gun culture is a series of slightly more onerous obstacles to obtaining a firearm.

Bear that in mind and be prepared to fight against every single attempt to infringe the right to keep and bear arms. If you don't your grandchildren may grow up in a country where only a tiny minority are sanctioned by the state to own certain classes of firearm.