Essay:Why do conservatives own firearms?

This essay is an original work by TheAmericanRedoubt. Please comment only on the talk page.

Conservative Politics and Why Conservatives Invest in and Use Firearms

The most important reason that American conservatives, many American Christians, many conservative Asian-born Buddhists (who escaped communism to the liberty of America), many veterans, most Patriots, almost all preppers, all gun enthusiasts, many libertarians and some more moderate liberals invest in and use firearms is for the simple reason that "Criminals never follow laws" -- especially progressive police state created gun control, ammunition control and gun free zone laws.

Criminals by Nature Never Follow Laws

For the "hard of hearing" liberals, I repeat more loudly "Criminals never follow laws!"

These anti-American anti Second Amendment gun control, ammunition control and gun free zones have always been absurd left wing "unicorn utopia" wishful thinking pollyanna fantasies of the Anti-self-defense movement for the simple reason that criminals by their nature never follow laws.

A huge campaign of disinformation on guns is pushed daily on our TVs and Internet devices. It has nothing to do with public safety or preventing mass shootings of innocent people. No law against "guns and ammo" would have stopped the evil Muslim jihad terrorists murder 12 people at the gun free zone in Paris at Charlie Hebdo or Adam Lanza at Sandy Hook Elementary school – violent criminals will always break laws and be violent with all kinds of devices – they don't need guns (as evidenced by the high amount of knife crime and knife murders in "gun free" United Kingdom and Australia).

Thomas Jefferson said, "Laws that forbid the carrying of arms...disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes... Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.”

If we truly wish to increase public safety, then we should make laws whereby immediate armed responses by good civilians are allowed and encouraged – now that will save our children and stop these senseless massacres by madmen. President James Monroe said on November 16, 1818, "The right of self-defense never ceases. It is among the most sacred, and alike necessary to nations and to individuals."

Jefferson said, "The constitutions of most of our States assert that all power is inherent in the people; that... it is their right and duty to be at all times armed;..." (Thomas Jefferson letter to Justice John Cartwright of the Supreme Court, June 5, 1824. 1824. ME 16:45).

No, this progressive police state "gun grabbing" movement is more ominous in nature, and it ties into an alarming political change in the United States – the exact kind our wise Founding Fathers worried about. "To disarm the people [is] the best and most effectual way to enslave them…" (George Mason, 3 Elliot, Debates at 380, June 14, 1788)

Experiences with the British during Revolutionary War and World War II

Second Amendment-supporting American citizens gifted their firearms to gun free zone-gun control supporting British citizens during World War II via The American Committee for the Defense of British Homes

Fully Automatic Weapons Frequently Asked Questions

Q - Aren’t machine guns illegal?

A - Machine gun (full-auto) ownership is legal in most free states of America. There are Federal laws which strictly regulate machine gun ownership. In some progressive police states, there are state and local laws which either regulate or prohibit machine gun ownership except for military and law enforcement.

Automatic weapons such as the M14, M16, FAL, HK91, AK47 and AK74, are legal for civilian use in the United States, as a liberty-minded Constitutional Republic supporting the unalienable right to both self-defense/home security and defense against tyranny from "enemies both foreign and domestic" ("support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, so help us God"). Hence, automatic weapons, such as the M14, are both legal and popular for in most free states of the Union by passing a BATF background check and paying a $250 tax stamp as stipulated by the National Firearms Acts of 1934 (NFA34).

Unconstitutionally ignoring the Second Amendment, unfree progressive police states such as New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Connecticut and California have banned sale of automatic weapons except to law enforcement and military (and gangs and criminals of course since they never follow laws). In examining the sage writings of the Founding Fathers, it is clear that they intended that American citizens may keep and bear personal firearms of same level as the military. Despite what Dianne Feinstein, Charles Schumer, Michael Bloomberg, Barack Hussein Obama and Joe Biden say, the Second Amendment isn't about hunting and the sporting use of single shot rifles for target practice. Automatic weapons are still a popular purchase among conservatives, gun enthusiasts, patriots, veterans - Oath Keepers and preppers-survivalists, despite being quite expensive since the Reagan Administration McClure-Volkmer Act of 1986 (MV86 - signed by President Ronald Reagan in May 1986) and the Bush Administration Import Ban of 1990 (IB90 signed by George H. W. Bush in November 1990).

Q – What laws regulate and control Machine Gun ownership

A - The three principal Federal laws governing machine gun ownership are:

1. "The National Firearms Act of 1934. This law provides for taxation of the transfer from one person to another of machine guns and certain other firearms (referred to as “N.F.A. firearms”), registration of those firearms, and the Federal licensing and taxation of machine gun dealers and manufacturers. It also calls for severe penalties for violators. The law established the $200 tax on the transfer of machine guns. This tax has not increased since the enactment of the law in 1934."
2. "The Gun Control Act of 1968. This law prohibits the importation of machine guns for civilian ownership. It did not make properly registered foreign-made guns in the country at the time of its passage illegal."
3. "The Firearms Owners Protection Act of 1986. This law prohibits the domestic manufacture of machine guns for civilian ownership. It did not make properly registered foreign or U.S. made guns illegal."

According to the Idaho Automatic Weapons Collectors’ Association in the American Redoubt, "Idaho and 39 other states permit ownership of machine guns by non-dealer civilians. While some states have various prohibitions or restrictions, Idaho does not. Within the 40 free states permitting machine gun ownership, there are cities and towns which have various local prohibitions or restrictions. As of 1998, Idaho has no such local restrictions or prohibitions."

Incrementalism of the Liberal Nanny State - Progressive Police State

Incrementalism can be called "death by a thousand paper cuts" and refers to the creeping pervasive and insidious growth of more and more big government regulation of every aspect of modern life by the growing liberal Nanny state leading to a progressive police state.

Quotes

• "Ammunition control, gun control and gun free zones have always been absurd left wing "unicorn utopia" wishful thinking pollyanna fantasies of the Anti-self-defense movement, for the simple reason that criminals by their nature never follow laws." - The American Redoubt

• "No gun control law against 'guns and ammo' would have stopped the evil Muslim jihad terrorists murder 12 people at the gun free zone in Paris at Charlie Hebdo or Adam Lanza at Sandy Hook Elementary school – violent criminals will always break laws and be violent with all kinds of devices – they don't need guns (as evidenced by the high amount of knife crime and knife murders in "gun free" United Kingdom and Australia)." - The American Redoubt

• "It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace–but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! – Patrick Henry, March 23, 1775

• "The price of liberty is Eternal vigilance" – John Philpot Curran

• "Laws that forbid the carrying of arms...disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes... Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.” - Thomas Jefferson

• "The constitutions of most of our States assert that all power is inherent in the people; that... it is their right and duty to be at all times armed;..." - Thomas Jefferson letter to Justice Cartwright of the Supreme Court, June 5, 1824. 1824. ME 16:45)

• "Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty.” – Thomas Jefferson

• " …arms…discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property. …Horrid mischief would ensue were [the law-abiding] deprived the use of them." – Thomas Paine

• “Stand your ground. Don’t fire unless fired upon, But if they mean to have a war, Let it begin here!” – Captain John Parker, Lexington Minute Company, April 19, 1775

• “All initiation of force is a violation of someone else’s rights, whether initiated by an individual or the state, for the benefit of an individual or group of individuals, even if it’s supposed to be for the benefit of another individual or group of individuals.:” – Congressman Ron Paul

• "As an Army officer, I learned that in order to be effective, an army must have three key abilities: To move, shoot, and communicate. Take away any one, and you are ineffective. But if you get all three right, you can absolutely devastate an opponent — even one that has vastly superior numbers." - James Wesley Rawles

• "My father often told me, 'It is better to have a gun and not need it than to need a gun and not have it.' I urge readers to use less than lethal means when safe and practicable, but at times there is not a satisfactory substitute for well-aimed lead going down range at high velocity." - James Wesley Rawles

• "It is one of the great ironies of our modern 'civilized' era that in most of the places where you don't feel the need to carry a firearm for self-defense you can legally do so if you choose. But in most of places where you do indeed justifiably feel the immediate need to carry a gun, they are banned. - James Wesley Rawles

• "Guns are like parachutes: if you don’t have one when you need it, then chances are that you won’t ever be in need of one again.", - James Wesley Rawles

• "A recurring theme in western journalism, academia, and collectivist politics is the quaint notion that firearms are intrinsically evil. That is, that they have a will of their own, that somehow inspires their owners to murder and mayhem. I liken this nonsensical belief to voodoo.", - James Wesley Rawles

• Cartridge firearms are compact vehicles for change that have shaped modern history. The righteousness of their use is entirely up to their users, since like any other tool they can be used both for good or for ill.  A firearm is just a tool with no volition. A rifle is no different than a claw hammer. To wit: A hammer can be used to build a house, or it can be used to bash in someone’s skull — the choice of uses is entirely up to the owner. A bulldozer can be used to build roads, or to destroy houses. A rifle can be used to drill holes in paper targets, or to dispatch a marauding bear, or to murder your fellow man. Again, the choice of uses is entirely up to the user.", - James Wesley Rawles

• "A recurring theme in western journalism, academia, and collectivist politics is the quaint notion that firearms are intrinsically evil. That is, that they have a will of their own, that somehow inspires their owners to murder and mayhem. I liken this nonsensical belief to voodoo.", - James Wesley Rawles

• Cartridge firearms are compact vehicles for change that have shaped modern history. The righteousness of their use is entirely up to their users, since like any other tool they can be used both for good or for ill.  A firearm is just a tool with no volition. A rifle is no different than a claw hammer. To wit: A hammer can be used to build a house, or it can be used to bash in someone’s skull — the choice of uses is entirely up to the owner. A bulldozer can be used to build roads, or to destroy houses. A rifle can be used to drill holes in paper targets, or to dispatch a marauding bear, or to murder your fellow man. Again, the choice of uses is entirely up to the user.", - James Wesley Rawles

• "If a firearm is used by a criminal or psychopath with evil intentions, then it is a tool for evil. But if it is used for good (to defend life and property), then it is a tool for good. A firearm by itself has no sentience, no volition, no moral force, and no politics. The proper term for this is an adiaphorous object -- something that is neither good nor evil. A firearm is simply a cleverly-designed construction of metal, wood, and plastic in the form of a precision tool."<, - James Wesley Rawles

• "Here it is, in quintessence: You are either a man with a gun, or you are mere human cattle for the slaughter. The choice is yours. I prefer to be armed and vigilant rather than being at the mercy of some would-be slave master. There is no notch in my ear.", - James Wesley Rawles

• "The Second Amendment is about protecting your right to go deer hunting the same way that the First Amendment is about protecting your right to publish poetry." - James Wesley Rawles

• "Just buying up modern-day slaves and giving them their freedom hasn't worked. The Islamic slavers simply go and kidnap more of them. The only way to effectively stop armed slaver kidnappers is to train and equip large numbers of armed free men in the border villages. In the modern context, you can "Just Say No" to slavery only with a battle rifle." - James Wesley Rawles

• "We must recognize that in our generation there might come a day with no remaining avenue of escape. State laws can be avoiding simply by moving, but what of unconstitutional Federal laws? At that point we will have no choice but to rebel against tyranny. (Since the alternative would be to live as little better than bleating sheep.) When we reach that juncture I doubt that I will advocate expatriation. Most foreign lands have less freedom than we enjoy here in these United States. I don't think that I will find some ideal "bolt hole" nation with more firearms freedom, better banking privacy, a more positive business climate, lower taxes, full religious freedom, unimpeded personal property rights, fair courts, and assured freedom of speech. If I must die, then I will do so here in America, fully armed and facing my oppressors. I won't die in some ditch, begging for mercy." - James Wesley Rawles

• “Diplomacy is the art of saying ‘Nice Doggie!’ while you are looking for a rock.” – Will Rogers

• "Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples' liberty's teeth." - George Washington

• "God grants liberty only to those who love it, and are always ready to guard and defend it." – Daniel Webster

• Gun control quotes