Opinion by Allen West
USA – -(AmmoLand.com)- If you cherish your individual freedom and liberty, please read this entire missive, and share its warning.
This last week was the National Rifle Association (NRA) winter board meeting. As you should know by now, reading these pages, the NRA is the nation’s oldest civil rights organization, founded in 1871 in New York to improve rifle marksmanship. The NRA is today the foremost guardian of the Second Amendment right of all Americans to be able to protect themselves, their lives, their liberty, their loved ones, their property. Without a doubt, as you have heard me say previously, an armed individual is a citizen, an unarmed individual is a subject — and history has proven so. As a matter of fact, it was those few brave men who stood before the greatest military power in the world on April 19, 1775, at Lexington Green knowing they British were marching towards Concord Massachusetts to destroy an armaments factory . . . to disarm the American patriots whom they deemed rebels.
Years ago, 480 BC, at a place called Thermopylae, Liberty and Freedom stood before the invasion of Tyranny in the Persian army under Xerxes. When Tyranny told Liberty to lay down their arms, Spartan King Leonidas replied, “Molon Labe.”
In October 1835 at a place called Gonzales, Texas, once again Tyranny stood before Liberty and Freedom, and demanded a cannon be surrendered, Liberty replied in English the basic translation of Leonidas’ words, “Come and Take it.”
One of the great honors in my life was to be elected to the Board of the National Rifle Association back in 2016 for a three-year term. I will be up for reelection to the board this year and the voting window is from February to April, the results to be announced at the NRA Annual Meeting during last week of April in Indianapolis, Indiana. I do hope to continue my service in defense of our Second Amendment right, and with this new progressive socialist House of Representatives majority, the future of individual freedom and liberty is under assault in America.
As reported by Politico:
“House Democrats will introduce their proposal to require universal backgrounds checks for gun sales on Tuesday, the eighth anniversary of former Rep. Gabby Gifford’s shooting, according to Democratic lawmakers and aides. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Rep. Mike Thompson (Calif.) — who heads up a Democratic task force on gun violence — will join Giffords in introducing the bill, which will be dubbed “H.R. 8” in honor of the Arizona Democratic lawmaker.
Giffords nearly died in the Jan. 8, 2011, shooting in Tucson, Arizona, which left six people dead and 15 wounded. She resigned from Congress in January 2012.
“Since the shooting at Sandy Hook, the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force has been fighting for a chance to pass legislation that will help save lives,” Thompson said in a statement. “Finally, with our new majority that ran on helping to prevent gun violence, we will introduce a bipartisan, universal background checks bill. We will hold hearings, we will have a vote, and this legislation will finally pass the House.”
“In communities across America, courageous survivors, families and young advocates are showing outstanding courage and persistence in demanding an end to the horrific scourge of gun violence in our nation,” Pelosi said in a statement.
The Democratic proposal would require federal background checks on all gun sales, including private transactions. There will be some small exemptions to those checks, such as transfers between family members, or temporary use of a gun for hunting.
Gun-control groups estimate that roughly “one-fifth or more of gun sales don’t include background checks.”
Let’s have an honest discussion, something the left does not want:
Jared Loughner was the person who shot Rep. Giffords, he passed a background check. The problem was that Loughner’s mental condition was never reported, and therefore not available in the system so that when he applied on BATF Form 4473 he would have been denied.
Adam Lanza was the shooter in Sandy Hook. His mother was a legal, law-abiding gun owner who had passed background checks. He son was mentally ill and was able to kill her, gain access to her firearms, and proceeded to enact his evil and kill little children. In each of these cases, and many others, the issue is not background checks, it is mental illness.
However, do not let facts get in the way of what the left really wants, to disarm the American people.
Those who sell illegal firearms are not going to follow any law passed by these delusional socialists whose aim is to render law-abiding Americans defenseless. There are some 100 million law-abiding and legal gun owners in America, a little over 5M are NRA members. C’mon, y’all!
My point is that we do not have an epidemic of gun violence . . . we have an issue with those suffering from mental illness having access to firearms, such as Nicolas Cruz in the Parkland shooting. Cruz should have been reported by law enforcement and fallen under the Baker Act.
I have purchased firearms at gun shows, and guess what? I went through a background check. I go through a background check each time I decide to purchase a firearm.
What the progressive socialists want is universal gun registration, they want to know who has what. That has always been a precursor to tyranny.
This movement is heavily funded by the likes of Michael Bloomberg, who is spending millions of dollars to destroy the NRA. Bloomberg’s wealth is at or near some $52B and he still brings in some $250M a year. All of these anti-second amendment movements are bankrolled by him, including the “March for our Lives” event in Washington, DC. Certainly, a group of high school kids could not pull that together. Further, Bloomberg has a willing ally in New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is doing everything he can by way of weaponizing government against the NRA. The time is coming for us all to decide which side will you stand with, liberty and freedom or Pelosi, Bloomberg, and Cuomo.
If you still do not believe there is a wholehearted effort to disarm legal, law-abiding American gun owners, here is proof. As reported by Ballotpedia:
“The Florida Ban on Military-Style Firearms and Disqualifications for Firearm Possession Initiative (Initiative #18-03) may appear on the ballot in Florida as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 3, 2020.
The measure would ban persons residing or entering the state from possessing military-style firearms. The measure would define military-style firearms as “any gun with a magazine capacity of more than seven rounds of ammunition or any weapon capable of firing in fully automatic mode, any weapon capable of being modified in any manner to fire in a fully automatic mode or any weapon classified as a sniper rifle.”
The measure would also prohibit persons from possessing any firearm if the person had (a) been convicted of a felony; (b) been convicted of three or more misdemeanors; (c) his or her driver’s license revoked for driving under the influence, reckless driving, or excessive speeding; (d) been subject to two or more domestic abuse emergency calls or investigations; (e) been diagnosed by a medical professional as psychologically disturbed; or (f) made any substantiated threat of violence against another person.
The measure would delete the existing language of Section 8(a) of Article I of the Florida Constitution, which provides people with the constitutional right to keep and bear arms in defense of themselves.”
Again, if you read BATF Form 4473, many of these provisions are already listed that would nullify being able to acquire a firearm. The problem is that many states lag in updating the database, which was a problem with the Sutherland Springs, Texas shooting.
Think about this: any weapon that can have more than seven rounds will be considered a “military-style firearm.” But that is not just the end of it, these leftists are seeking to rewrite the Florida constitution.
“This Amendment recognizes the Florida National Guard and other organized police forces as the well-regulated militia of the State and authorizes them to keep and use military-style weapons. Possession of military-style weapons is prohibited except for the militia. Other persons convicted of various types of crimes or investigated for abuses are also prohibited from possessing guns or firearms.”
This ballot initiative is being proposed by Stop the Killing Committee, look them up. What is very disconcerting is that it will only take 766,200 valid signatures by February 1, 2020 to get this initiative on the Florida ballot for the 2020 election. And ya think this is all happening as a coincidence?
Ladies and gents, this is no longer about gun control, it is about disarmament. When a progressive socialist group is redefining the meaning of a well-regulated militia to only be law enforcement and State National Guard, well, don’t think that Florida will be the only place where ballot initiatives such as this will pop up. If such an initiative were to pass, then it establishes a legal precedent for other states to follow. And we all thought that the Heller and McDonald court decisions were clear? Now you see why the left went apoplectic about Justice Brett Kavanaugh?
My right inner forearm has a simple tattoo with the words “Molon Labe.” My message to the progressive socialist left, “Come, Take,” because I will not surrender to you. I will not succumb to your weaponizing government to achieve the disarmament of We the People. If it is a fight you seek, well, it is a fight you will get. Please, do not mistake us for those weak, feckless Republicans on Capitol Hill. The blood flowing through our veins is that of the men of Lexington Green and Gonzales. We are American citizens, and will never be your subjects.
I, Lieutenant Colonel Allen B. West, am the NRA, and I am Freedom’s Safest Place!
About Allen West
Lieutenant Colonel (Ret) Allen B. West is a Christian constitutional conservative, combat veteran, and former member of the US Congress. His life has been defined as one of service, sacrifice, and commitment to this Republic, the United States of America. He believes it will be conservative, free market policies — not politics — that secures a sound economic future for Americans – with growth, opportunity and returning the promise of the American dream for this generation and those to come. To read more visit: www.theoldschoolpatriot.com