This video makes me furious. Dictators of the past (Rome, Russia, China) have almost always come to power by declaring emergency and bestowing upon themselves the power to take away their citizens' rights. This is sickening, outrageous and downright terrifying.
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I agree, it does seem very scary, outrageous, troubling, etc. However, I can't help but think that this video doesn't tell the whole story. It doesn't give any background, or any information on the circumstances of the seizures. I'm not saying I'm in favor of seizing everyone's guns, I'm just saying that I like to know the whole story, and I have an intense dislike for one-sided journalism. I like to hear both sides. Even if one side is as wrong as Hitler, I still want to hear it.
Interestingly enough, I was more outraged at the concept of property being seized than guns. I'm not anti-gun, I just don't accept many of the arguments for gun ownership (for example, I don't believe they make you safer in any way--quite the opposite, actually).
Recently I re-read the second amendment and I don't see an individual right to bear arms in the original text: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." You may argue that this would have to be an individual right, and that is possible, but I can't help but look at the purpose. The right to bear arms was connected with the forming of militias to preserve the Free State. That doesn't translate to the right to carry a weapon around with you wherever you go.
The floor is now open to argument. Fire at will.
Which is exactly why this is infuriating. The exact reasons that the guns were being confiscated is the same exact reason that the second amendment exists. The local government was taking away the power of the citizens who didn't and don't trust them to challenge their authority. The mayor of New Orleans was an untrustworthy, unethical quack, and the authorities at the time were power-hungry pigs. It's at the time when you will feel that the right to the ownership of a weapon is least important that it will become the most important, as it slips through your fingers and you grant your government the right to subjugate you. Every despot and dictator of the last century set their dictatorship in motion by first making private ownership of weapons illegal.
Also, how do you have a militia without the individual right to bear arms?
Okay, finally getting back to this. Yes, a militia requires the individual right to bear arms, but when we are talking about the security of the state, we are not talking about carrying your handgun anywhere you want, we're talking about carrying it in defense of the nation.
I personally feel that most Americans are too stupid and hotheaded to be permitted to carry handguns anywhere they wish. Keep it in your home, yes, but don't pull it out when you are arguing with someone at the local park where I am playing with my kid.
And I agree--the Mayor of New Orleans was an unethical pig, but it is also very difficult for local law enforcement to keep the peace during a natural disaster. I feel that people taking advantage of such occasions to break the law should be shot on sight. The confiscation of weapons might have been an attempt to prevent crime from getting out of control. I'm not saying it was the right thing, I'm just saying it might be a little better than it looked in this video. And the video is still one-sided sloppy journalism designed to get people pissed off. I still want to hear the other side's response.
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