Monday, May 13, 2013

Gun Law - Possibilities




From a famous judge:

All too many of the other great tragedies of history – Stalin’s atrocities, the killing fields of Cambodia, the Holocaust, to name but a few – were perpetrated by armed troops against unarmed populations. Many could well have been avoided or mitigated, had the perpetrators known their intended victims were equipped with a rifle and twenty bullets apiece, as the Militia Act required here. If a few hundred Jewish fighters in the Warsaw Ghetto could hold off the Wehrmacht for almost a month with only a handful of weapons, six million Jews armed with rifles could not so easily have been herded into cattle cars. Alex Kozinski, 9th circuit

As much as I admire Mr Kozinski, I have to take issue with his conjecture regarding the Jew. For the most part they were all law-abiding citizens and loyal to their country, just like us. They followed every rule and regulation the government issued including laws requiring registration and ultimately confiscation of any guns they owned.

When registration was demanded, they registered, both themselves and their firearms. When it became illegal for Jews to own firearms, they dutifully turned them in, even going to the effort of surreptitiously bringing guns found after the turn-in dates to the police in order to avoid drawing attention to themselves.

When ordered to turn themselves in, they had no choice but to pack a small bag and get on the trains. They were good law-abiding citizens with an unlimited trust in their government. Just like the CCW holders at the Aurora theater who dutifully either left their guns at home or locked them in their cars.

In this country where gun ownership is generally only moderately restricted, about 1/3 of the population might be said to have the “firearm and twenty rounds” called for in the Militia Act, although that percentage is rising. In 1935 it would probably be safe to assume that no more than 1/3 of the Jewish population possessed a firearm either a hunting piece or a pistol, frequently a holdover from WWI. Had 9 million Jews possessed a rifle and 20 rounds, and the will to use them, there would have been no holocaust. A messy insurrection maybe, but no holocaust.

It comes down to the will, real or perceived, to use the guns you have. To Quote Saul Alinsky’s rule #1:  Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have. You may not plan to use them, but you should never leave the impression that you wouldn’t.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Just like the CCW holders at the Aurora theater who dutifully either left their guns at home or locked them in their cars."

Is there any evidence that anybody who was there that night was a CCW holder who left his gun in the car (or at home)?

Just because the theater had a "no guns" policy does not mean that anybody was disarmed.

Billll said...

I remember hearing in the news that there were a couple of disarmed CCW folk there. The mention was made, then disappeared from the reports.

Anonymous said...

You probably remember a lot of things that aren't true.

If there were CCW holders who were "disarmed" by the capitalist theater owners (aka "the job creators"), the gun lobby would have documented this.

And surviving CCW holders who survived would have come forward, just as Suzanna Gratia did in 1991.

Since you cannot name a single person who was at the Aurora theater who had a CCW, your claim is bunk.


PS -- your suggestion that the news media was involved in some cover-up of CCW holders at the theater is proof that moonbattery isn't confined to the left.

McHairball said...

WOW anonymous - you don't think people actually think twice about carrying in a theater? I plead guilty. Because I run the risk of losing my CPL by going to see a movie in a theater with 16 screens that seats more than xyz people, I didn't carry there - before Aurora. Now I don't give a crap - I carry regardless. So you can stick your anonymous douchebag attack ("...you probably remember a lot of things that aren't true..." in your most whiny cheesy voice) where the sun don't shine. The chances are VERY good that good law abiding people (AKA suckers, like myself) chose NOT to carry, because it was against the law. Christ, piss off you douche troll.

Anonymous said...

"The chances are VERY good that good law abiding people (AKA suckers, like myself) chose NOT to carry,"

And what do you base that assertion on?

Again, if there was a CCW-holder who wasn't carrying that night, chances are he would have come forward to tell his story.

If a voluntarily-disarmed CCW-holder was among the dead, his family members would probably have come forward.

Besides, CCWs are public records in Colorado, so any pro-gun group could have correlated that list with the list of victims.

Instead, you idiotarians keep saying that CCW-holders were disarmed at the mass shooting, without any evidence whatsoever that a single CCW-holder was disarmed at the mass shooting.

I expect this kind of dishonesty from Obama, Bloomberg, Feinstein, etc. But when it comes from pro-gunners, it's insufferable, because your fantasies and stupidity undermine the gun-rights movement. I don't know why you people keep insisting on inventing facts, when the truth is on your side.

Brad K. said...

Anon 9:06,

I seem to recall that the mall shooting in Omaha ended early when someone carried, contrary to mall policy, and ended the mayhem.

And I contend that the known response of the community to abide by the rules in "Disarmed Victim Zones", like the Aurora theater, plated a motivating as well as opportunistic role in setting the stage. If Aurora/Denver were know to pay lip service, only, to "No Guns" postings, or if the Theater hadn't posted "No Guns!" signs, there would *not* have been a shooting. Gun holders in the audience, present or not, disarmed or not, were of secondary importance in setting the stage for the shooting.

If tavern keepers can be charged for selling booze to a drunk that later drives under the influence, I see no reason that the theater owner or manager of any "disarmed victim zone" venue that fails to protect the public from mass shootings -- should escape criminal charges for their negligence. Establishing a "No Guns!"/"Disarmed Victim Zone" venue *enables* a mass shooter.

Brad K.