My cold dead hands

A blog by Thad Ray.

I do not own a gun. Although I don’t own one, I do not have a problem with guns.

If some magic fairy waved her wand and every gun in the world disappeared, well, I wouldn’t have a problem with that either. I don’t believe the world would be a better or worse place without guns. Evil men committed evil deeds long before there were guns.

In wake of the recent shootings there have been numerous debates over gun ownership and the Second Amendment. One side claims that if we take away or limit guns, it will limit the amount of people that will have access to them, and thereby potentially limit the senseless acts of violence that have seemed so prevalent recently. The other side claims that if we take away or limit guns, the only people that will have guns are criminals. And the government. And the police.

The reason that this is so big an issue is that guns give people a distinct advantage. People use guns to hunt animals because it gives them an advantage over the animal. People use guns to rob other people because it gives the armed person an advantage over the unarmed person. It’s really simple.

If you follow that logic, it’s not difficult to come to the next conclusion; If having a gun is an advantage, than not having a gun is a disadvantage. Since we know that criminals don’t follow laws, it’s logical to think that criminals will not give up their guns should such a law ever pass. Therefore it’s reasonable to conclude that should this come to be, the only people that will be at a disadvantage are the law abiding citizens.

I see a lot of arguments plying on the sympathy of the American people over the loss of lives in the recent shootings. Does anyone honestly think for a moment that this doesn’t affect or deeply hurt anyone? These are our children. This is our future. But I’ve also seen the Facebook meme that says “If your first reaction to the shootings is “Oh shit! Obama/liberals are going to try and take our guns.” Then your priorities as a human being suck.” Well, I can almost guarantee that that wasn’t anybody’s first reaction. If it was, than I agree, your priorities as a human do suck. But that doesn’t change the fact that that’s what the government is using this as an opportunity to do.

This is not about being liberal or conservative, this is about not giving an unfair advantage to people who will take advantage of it.

I’ve heard conspiracy theories claiming all of these shootings are a plan, and the government is using them as an excuse to come and get our guns. I don’t know if they’re planned, maybe it’s just a coincidence that a series of shootings occur when the U.S. is involved in the U.N. small arms treaty. Maybe it’s just a coincidence that the president just signed the NDAA which allows the military to indefinitely detain American citizens without a trial. I mean the government wouldn’t purposely deceive or manipulate us in order to acquire even more power over Americans… Would it?

According to Thomas Jefferson, “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.”

This is just common sense, seriously. The world is not a nice place. To think that passing more gun control laws or taking away guns entirely is going to make the world a better or safer place is ludicrous. Bad people do bad things. That’s the bottom line.

Charlie Reese, a syndicated columnist, said “A government that intended to protect the liberty of the people would not disarm them. A government planning the opposite most certainly and logically would disarm them. And so it has been in this century. Check out the history of Germany, the Soviet Union, Cuba, China and Cambodia.”

Once again, this is just common sense. Look and see what happens the majority of the time a government takes away guns. So in essence, this debate isn’t about saving a few lives, or making the country a bit safer, it’s about championing freedom and standing against those who would take it.

The fact that this country was founded on certain principles and rose to greatness by adhering to and promoting those principles should make any thinking person wonder about a government that tries to act in direct opposition to those ideals. How much do you really trust the government?

The constitution and the amendments are the foundation upon which America is built. If you destroy the foundation of something, it inevitably falls. By attempting to infringe on the constitution and our rights, the government is attempting to undermine the pillars upon which our country was founded and stands. This is not how a government should behave.

Gun control is just one more issue that America is divided on, which, if the government did have some hidden agenda (but they don’t… do they?) would fall right into the divide and conquer strategy.

I do not believe that the government has the best interest of the people at heart. I do not trust the government. I can’t in any good conscious support a government that manipulates and lies to the people that it’s supposed to be serving. It is still “We the people…” Right? And our government is still “By the people, for the people…” Isn’t it?

Maybe I am a conspiracy theorist, but if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, chances are… It’s a duck.

Maybe I am a little bit paranoid, but like Joseph Heller said: “Just because you’re paranoid, doesn’t mean they aren’t after you.”

I have to believe that things are going to get worse before they get better. The government controls the media, and big business controls the government. The only thing they don’t control is us, the American people. How long that will last if we don’t stand up for our rights?

No, I don’t own a gun, but I’m starting to think maybe I should.