I received the January 2006 issue of the monthly NRA publication America's 1st Freedom (NRA Life Member since March of '76) the other day. After reading the monthly column Standing Guard by Wayne LaPierre I became damned mad. Not at LaPierre, of course, but at what our National Guardsmen and law enforcement officers have done to their fellow citizens of the United States in New Orleans. As a citizen, former law enforcement officer and former Guardsman I'm particularly offended when these people blindly take orders from politicians and abuse their position with no consideration of their true loyalties or obligations.
Police executives and law makers are politicians. The only validity for their existence is their service to citizens of the U.S. as ratified by the Constitution. That same Constitution does not bestow unlimited rights upon them to become demigods and do whatever is convenient to the political considerations of the moment or their personal agendas. On the contrary, it severely restricts their powers and validates the inherent rights of the citizen. That is the contract to which these politicians and their subordinates all agreed and swore an oath to protect and uphold.
"…The Right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."
Let's cut the crap! Regardless of its misunderstood and distorted preamble, the Second Amendment is a fundamental part of our Bill of Rights. These rights are solely an enumeration of the rights of the individual as opposed to rights of the government. How can this be construed as a right of the government when it is clearly a restriction of government? Or the National Guard, a force normally in the employ of the states but ultimately controlled by the federal government in time of need as upheld by the courts? There is no question among the intellectually honest and informed. Check Black's law dictionary, or any dictionary, and you will find there is no question…this is incontrovertible.
Bill of Rights – "A summary of fundamental rights and privileges guaranteed to a people against violation by the state…" – Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th edition
Which leaves us with the dishonest, ignorant or weak individuals who will do whatever they are told, or order others to commit illegal, immoral acts. What is their defense? "I was only following orders?" We have heard that one before, and it didn't keep them from being hanged after Nuremberg.
Military and Police personnel all take an oath which always includes upholding both Federal and state (where applicable) constitutions. I believe officers must place the Constitution first and cannot justifiably be faulted or punished for abiding by this high standard, although it may well require a lot of courage at the time and accepting the possibilities of short-term penalties. An armed citizen who is not committing a crime other than posessing a firearm might be best passed by with no more than a wink and a nod.
LaPierre describes an incident in New Orleans with "…burly California Highway Patrol troopers body slamming an elderly woman who showed them an antique pistol she proudly said she would use to defend herself and her home." They assaulted her physically, disarmed her and apparently forcibly removed her from her home. I see red because they blindly followed the illegal orders of a politician, disgraced Police Superintendent P. Edwin Compass, and trampled this harmless woman's most basic right to defend herself and feel secure in her home. Wouldn't it be nice to know the names of these brave CHP officers protecting us from the enemies of freedom? I'm sure real law enforcement officers would just like to say "hi" to them.
– Ralph L. Holzhaus II
Wilderness President