You Have A Right To Rights!

Will our gun rights be violated? They already have been. I’m not talking about gun laws, but gun confiscation. In 2005, during hurricane Katrina, police and National Guard went house-to-house and confiscated guns. It took a lawsuit to get those guns returned. Law enforcement made a feeble attempt, but they claim it’s too difficult because of so many residents misplaced because of the hurricane. Yet the NRA was able to do a pretty good job of finding these citizens. In 2006, Congress passed the DISASTER RECOVERY PERSONAL PROTECTION ACT OF 2006. The law was intended to prevent the government from seizing legally owned firearms during the time of a disaster. It was incorporated as an amendment to the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act 2007 and signed into law on October 4, 2006. In H.R. 5013 it states: “(3) In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the safety of these citizens, and of their homes and property, was threatened by instances of criminal activity. (4) Many of these citizens lawfully kept firearms for the safety of themselves, their loved ones, their businesses, and their property, as guaranteed by the Second Amendment, and used their firearms, individually or in concert with their neighbors, for protection against crime. (5) In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, certain agencies confiscated the firearms of these citizens in contravention of the Second Amendment, depriving these citizens of the right to keep and bear arms and rendering them helpless against criminal activity. (6) These confiscations were carried out at gunpoint by nonconsensual entries into private homes, by traffic checkpoints, by stoppage of boats, and otherwise by force. (7) The citizens from whom firearms were confiscated were either in their own homes or attempting to flee the flooding and devastation by means of motor vehicle or boat, and were accosted, stopped, and arbitrarily deprived of their private property and means of protection.” This is part of the Congressional record. So the politicians, Including our current President and Vice-President, have said they will not take anyone’s guns. Hopefully this law and others, will keep this from happening again. So left leaning people need to stop saying we’re paranoid, it’s already happened! Politicians talk about countries that they want to copy as far as gun confiscation Australia reports from the early 2000s estimate that only 20% or so of the banned firearms had been confiscated. Non-compliance is so widespread that the Australian government has seen fit to repeatedly offer extra periods of amnesty, most recently in 2016, after a government report estimated there were still 260,000 “illegal” firearms in civilian hands. Australia similarly banned the civilian possession of most semi-automatic firearms in 1996, but the country has spent the last two decades trying—and to a significant extent, failing—to enforce it. In Texas, Government Code Chapter 418 (EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT) permits the Governor to declare a State of Disaster which suspends certain state laws and regulations to allow local authorities to conduct rescue and recovery operations. However, it does not allow for the seizure of any legally owned firearms, University of Melbourne researchers Wang-Sheng Lee and Sandy Suardi concluded their 2008 report on the Australia’s debacle with the statement, “There is little evidence to suggest that [the Australian mandatory gun-buyback program] had any significant effects on firearm homicides.” “Although gun buybacks appear to be a logical and sensible policy that helps to placate the public’s fears,” the reported continued, “the evidence so far suggests that in the Australian context, the high expenditure incurred to fund the 1996 gun buyback has not translated into any tangible reductions in terms of firearm deaths.” The U.S. background check system prevented more than 300,000 firearm sales in 2020, a record amount indicating that nearly twice as many sales were blocked than the year before. Citing FBI data provided by Everytown for Gun Safety, The Associated Press reported that 42 percent of those denied sales of a firearm had previous felony convictions. The news comes as the number of potential gun buyers increased over the past two years from 0.6 percent to 0.8 percent, according to AP. One expert told the wire service that the increase in declined sales may be due to the fact that first-time buyers who have a previous conviction are unaware that they are legally prohibited from owning guns. “Some may have a felony conviction on their record and not think about it,” UCLA law professor Adam Winkler, who specializes in gun policy, told the AP. Winkler added that although making a false statement in a background check is a felony punishable by prison time, most are not prosecuted for essentially lying on a form filled out before making a purchase. U.S. gun sales surged during the COVID-19 pandemic last year. CNN reported that around 23 million guns were sold in 2020, a 65 percent increase from 2019, when 13.9 million guns were sold. Of those who were prevented from purchasing guns, 16 percent were blocked by state laws and 12 percent were blocked due to reasons related to domestic violence, according to the AP. “There’s no question that background checks work, but the system is working overtime to prevent a record number of people with dangerous prohibitors from being able to buy firearms,” Everytown research director Sarah Burd-Sharps said. “The loopholes in the law allow people to avoid the system, even if they just meet online or at a gun show for the first time.” The “loop-hole” she’s talking about is private sales. I’m sure Sarah is appalled at this practice but she is unaware of the black market guns that are out there. These are illegal guns being sold to illegal buyers. Regardless of law, this black market will always exist. Sarah also thinks that private sellers don’t care who they sell to. She is wrong. I don’t know of anyone who doesn’t care what is done with the gun that they sell. I know that I don’t want a knock on my door from law enforcement asking about a gun I no longer own. I don’t do background checks but I ask for personal information like a social security number and a drivers license. I like to have an idea who I’m dealing with. I also require a bill of sale and always ask if they have a concealed carry license. If they have a CC license at least I am assured they passed a back ground check. What Sarah doesn’t realize is how easy it is to find a black-market gun with no questions asked. This is usually an illegal sale but not necessarily. Banning the gun does not work. Confiscation does not work. The cat is already out of the bag with confiscation. More people trained and carrying would help. Background checks help but they will not cure what ills us. We have a problem with people. It won’t change with banning. It will change with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Not to get religious but this is the only true cure. Everything else is a band aid. Changing the way we think, how we handle stress, and how we act toward each other. These things will change a lot of this violence. But as one who has experienced his fair share of being involved with violence and evil, I’m here to tell you and Sarah that you can not stop it. I don’t understand the logic of making laws to stop law breakers. Some people don’t understand rights. These are not man-made even though men enacted the constitution. When I say God-given rights I’m saying that despite the affairs of mankind, despite human history, despite what you may want or I may want, despite the realities of our society, certain qualities of life are the birthright of every living soul. Defending ourselves and our families from those who would harm us IS a God-given right. How we do that may be disputed. I’m not sure of a better way to do this than with a gun. Other weapons are a possibility, but they do not address a threat the same way. This is why this amendment is in the bill of rights. You can’t just say “Oh you don’t need that anymore.” This right will always exist in spite of the above threats of gun control. Law enforcement is not the answer. Unless a cop lives with you, they cannot protect you. When seconds count, the police are minutes away. If we don’t pay attention to our rights they will be shaken and taken. Always be aware of what is happening to our rights. Semper Paratus Check 6 Burn