Recently, our current administration has suggested a “no-fly, no-buy” gun control measure as a common sense approach to gun control. Here is why I think this is a bad idea.
On the surface, no-fly, no-buy seems like smart gun control. After all, people on the government terrorist watch list should be the type of people we would want to restrict from having firearms. unfortunately, the government no-fly terrorist watch list is an unconstitutional reminder of Bush era totalitarianism. There are no checks and balances in place to determine who gets on the no-fly list, or why they are there. The federal government has impunity in deciding who to put on the no-fly list, and as a citizen, you have no way of knowing you have been placed o. the no fly list until you try to fly, and are declined. This means that the, if implemented, a n-fly, no-buy gun control measure would give the federal government carte blanch to bar people from owning guns without explanation, or reason.
The ACLU has described the no-fly list as “Kafkaesque bureaucracy.”, and with good reason. Check out this CNN article about the most notable examples of people being targeted by the no-fly list.
Some might even argue that the Bush administration targeted people like Ted Kennedy, and John Lewis for inclusion on the no-fly for their political affiliations. Could the Obama administration use it to target government dissenters and keep them from legally owning a firearm? It isn’t like this administration hasn’t used government agencies to target the opposition before… oh yeah, the IRS scandal.
Remember that Department of Homeland Security memo that put Veterans on a watch list as possible terrorists? Would a no-fly, no-buy gun control measure exclude Veterans, who fought overseas to protect our freedom, from being able to purchase a firearm in the states to protect their own families? Would the DHS call free speech advocates terrorists and bar them from purchasing a firearm?
The DHS has claimed that all gun owners are terrorists. Could they then claim that the simple act of trying to buy a gun is enough evidence to put you on a no-fly list, and therefore bar you from being able to buy the gun?
The truth of the matter is, we do not know the criteria the government uses to put people on a no-fly list. All we know is that it is a lot easier to get on a list, then to get off of it.
Opponents of the right to bear arms often say that the founding fathers didn’t intend for people to own military style weapons. But the founding fathers, who just fought a revolution against a tyrannical government, intended the right to bear arms as a safeguard to make sure the citizens of our country could always be armed enough to be a threat to the government. This is an additional means of checks and balances to prevent the government from becoming tyrannical. An unarmed population is easily oppressed.
Our current administration seems to constantly support the idea that our law enforcement systems are oppressive and corrupt, yet they want us to believe that those same oppressive and corrupt people should be the only ones allowed to have guns… Where is the sense in that?
Maybe the Obama administration isn’t really against guns. Maybe Obama is secretly working with gun manufacturers. After all, every time he comes out with some dim witted idea for gun control that doesn’t have the slightest chance of passing, guns sales sky rocket.
At least those corrupt and oppressive police have the insight to know that and armed population is safer then an unarmed one. In recent weeks several law enforcement agencies have asked their local citizens who are licensed to carry a concealed weapon to do so. (If they were as oppressive as the Obama administration wants you to believe, wouldn’t they not want people armed?)
Check out the list below of some of the Sheriffs advocating for people to arm themselves:
- Stephens County Sheriff Wayne McKinney
- Ulster County Sheriff Paul Van Blarcum
- Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio
- Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey
- Hendry County Sheriff Steve Whidden
Check out this Huffington Post article about how anyone could end up on the “No-Fly” list.
