Guns Are Not the Issue: Tragedy in Colorado

Reacting to the tragedy in Colorado would be a sad mistake. People are the source of assault, no matter how they are armed. Our founding father James Monroe said, "Of the right to keep and bear arms…. If these rights are well defined, and secured against encroachment, it is impossible that government should ever degenerate into tyranny" In addition, George Mason who wrote the Ten Amendments gave concrete expression to those inalienable human rights that belong to every American citizen and that are today the bedrock of our democracy said, "To disarm the people (is) the best and most effectual way to enslave them".

This episode is not the first one to be used as an excuse to disarm American’s of their Constitutional right to bear arms. More currently, law professor John Lott and economics professor David Mustard, the nationwide survey compiled data from counties across the United States from 1977 through 1992. In jurisdictions that passed concealed carry laws, violent crime fell measurably — homicides were down 8.5 percent, rapes down 5 percent, and aggravated assaults, down 7 percent. "The policy implications are undeniable: If you’re interested in reducing murder and rape, then letting law-abiding, mentally competent citizens carry concealed weapons has a positive impact," says Lott.

Is that why Washington D.C.’s murder rate is 69 per 100,000 — due to gun bans and Indianapolis’ rate of 9 per 100,000 is due to a lack of gun control? It is no coincidence that violent crime flourishes in the nation’s capital, where the individual’s right to defend himself has been most severely curtailed. Several Congressional committees have heard testimony from experts, including Police Chiefs, that most so called "gun control" bills do little to stem violent crime, even crimes with firearms.

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) expressed concern that the Virginia Tech shootings would be exploited to crack down on civil liberties. "We just can’t prevent every tragedy of a maniac. So to pretend this happened because of lack of laws would be the wrong thing to assume" His simple solution to future shooting massacres such as the one that ripped apart Virginia Tech University Monday: more guns. "A concealed gun carried by a responsible person — that might have ended the problem that they had at Virginia Tech with one person being killed or two people being killed."

What do we gain by abolishing firearms? Experts say: 1. Between 1 million and 2 million more crimes annually. 2. An increase in crimes committed by multiple assailants. 3. "New" types of crimes, such as home-invasion robberies or car-jacking. 4. A shift in injuries and fatalities from the criminals to the citizen. 5. A rise in "intimidation" crimes where criminals by the criminal intimidate people to give up their valuables to avoid injury implied by the criminal’s demeanor.

A ban on guns was tried in England in the mid 1990’s after a shooting in Dublane. Reported by the BBC News, Shadow home secretary Ann Widdecombe said: "People will be quite right to demand an urgent explanation from the Home Secretary as to why we are less and less safe on our streets and in our homes under the party who promised to be tough on crime".

Historically, gun control serves as a gateway to tyranny. Tyrants from Hitler to Mao to Stalin have sought to disarm their own citizens, for the simple reason that unarmed people are easier to control. Our Founders, after just fighting the British army, knew that the right to bear arms serves as the guardian of every other right. This is the principle so often ignored by both sides in the gun control debate. Only armed citizens can resist tyrannical government.

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