By George Mcclellan
Despite, or because of the speed of Trump’s unbelievable accomplishments dismantling the Deep State, America faces a very perilous period fraught with increasing violence, threats of violence and deranged people who say they hate guns, mostly Democrats, unshackled from reality and adversely affected by Trumps rapidly Making America Great Again. They are manifesting their willingness to take independent action hoping to make the People’s Democratic Republic of America, come true. They hate America; the Constitution stands in their way especially the 2nd Amendment.
The Second Amendment, our right to bear arms, is what protects the First Amendment and both are constantly under attack by evil American hating forces. The US Supreme Court has already ratified the 2nd Amendment. We can be armed! It’s the lesser political jurisdictions, those that embrace radicalism, state and local, who apply restrictions to gun possession that is a problem. They argue that without some controls America would return to its historic image of frontier justice. That view rests on decades of western motion pictures. In contrast, today’s street shootings are mostly committed by the very people ICE is deporting as well as the culture deprived denizens of inner-city youths. We read instead, when they can’t avoid reporting it, dysfunctional people like transgenders, jihadists, psychopaths, urban gangs and paid assassins actually making the news as killers but, rarely, is a legally armed citizen who knows and understands the responsibilities that accompany the possession and/or use of a firearm and who acts in self-defense, is reported on favorably. Why should a weapon used in self-defense not be reported except to make news as a crime? Doing so defeats their narrative.
Among the more interesting arguments that have been “settled” at the federal level is the issue of open and concealed carry. These issues avoid the question for civilians, of when to pull the trigger or not. We have real examples shown to us almost daily of the good and bad use of firearms both by civilians and even police officers. Nothing is black and white when someone violently takes another person’s life, especially with a gun.
I have completed forty-three years in law enforcement both uniformed and not, all of it armed. In all those years I never, ever once discharged a firearm at a human being or needed to! The LE agencies that employed me required I undergo constant training in the use of force to justified my right of possession and potential use of a firearm. I attended three firearms instructors’ schools, including the big one, the FLETC school at Brunswick, Ga. and for fifteen years, served as a firearms and unarmed self-defense instructor for my agency.
One thing I quickly learned as a FA/USD instructor for my agency was that most of the agents, while they understood the need and requirement for familiarization and qualification shooting, really didn’t want to be bothered. Range time cut into their investigative time (mine too) and was a nuisance. Included in range training was always a repeat discussion of when to shoot or not. “Shoot-No Shoot” courses were developed and are in use today. While they helped, to get through to them, I added these common-sense applications: Fleeing cars. From my CHP days, we were trained “don’t shoot at fleeing cars” unless it’s fleeing directly at you and you’re in danger of being run down. Car thefts happened all the time mostly by young men and, if the state lacks the authorization to execute a car theft, how does a police officer who fires upon a fleeing car and hits the driver explain his justification? The car is insured. It will be recovered and the car thief will eventually be apprehended. Too, once discharged, a bullet has no friends and endangers innocent people who might be in its path or in the background. I always reminded them that if they shot and killed someone would the action be “morally and legally justified?”
I’m amused when I see non law enforcement civilians, most often middle-aged white men constitutionalists, openly carry their little gun holstered on their belt for all to see. They have no idea of the danger they’re in. In their minds it’s their constitutional right but, in fact they are advertising: “I’m bad so don’t screw with me,” a challenge many bad guys might take up. Sadly, what they don’t realize is they can be disarmed in a matter of seconds by any person with gun handling experience, especially criminals to whom violence is their craft and who despise our constitutional rights. Concealed carry is preferable and eliminates or seriously reduces that possibility of losing your weapon and/or being shot by it.
Concealed carry has been a matter of contention over the years. Even now, as a retired federal agent, I admit I wasn’t really worried if I found a concealed gun while making a simple arrest but, in today’s climate of wanton violence by gangs, Islamists and the odd transgender shooter, I can agree that fear does exist and like a convert to Jesus, I have a deeper understanding of why other people embrace their constitutional rights to protect themselves, their families and others. We have citizens who are afraid of people carrying guns, justifiable or not, even law enforcement types. Leftists’ politicians see gun possession outside of law enforcement as a hinderance to their scheme to recreate America as a Socialist Republic dictatorship and so, their schemes continue at the local levels to restrict private citizens, one way or another, of their right to self-defense.
Wyoming citizens can now legally carry concealed firearms into most state government buildings following passage of their “Repeal Gun-Free Zones Act (HB 172).” It passed by a
strong majority in their Legislature and officially eliminates most “gun-free zones” across the state. Exceptions of course are jails, prisons and courthouses and, Wyoming requires no permit for concealed carry with a valid state ID and compliance with Constitutional Carry requirements.
In Philadelphia, Pa., a ban on open carry was recently ruled unconstitutional by the Massachusetts Supreme Court. They recognized that the state’s open carry ban in Philadelphia violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment by creating a two-tiered system where the fundamental right to bear arms depended on a zip code. Illinois on the other hand has a law, Public Act 102-111, called the Protect Illinois Communities Act that regulates the sale and distribution of “assault weapons,” high-capacity magazines in the state. The Act went into effect immediately upon signing by governor JB Pritzker however, individuals who possessed assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and other devices listed in the Act before it took effect were required to submit an endorsement affidavit through their Firearm Owner’s Identification Card account by 01 January, 2024. And there are other jurisdictions attempting to regulate gun possession, ammunition, magazines, and possession by age, and like where it can be carried and how. The nonsense goes on and on.
Here’s my experienced word on the subject: If you carry a gun, do it legally. Take lessons from a qualified range master. Understand that you never pull a gun as a threat. It might take medico’s hours of labor to extract it. If you do pull a gun and kill somebody, ask yourself was it legally and morally justified. Get insurance! That’s the world we live in today. Crime is all around us threatening our lives and our livelihoods thanks to Democrat policies specifically designed to destroy America from within. We’ve got to stand fast for the constitutional principles left to us. We must! The Communist Democrat Party is determined to prevail. They are down but not out. Also, we face Islamic Jihadists who insist we live under Sharia Law. I don’t think so!
