This post is taken word for word from "The Rambling Devil Podcast," S6E3. Click the link to listen to it now.
One thing that irks me about gun control laws is their obvious preference for governmental power rather than “power of the people.” This simple fact can easily be lost in the shuffle with all that is spread about online- even when those of us on the pro-gun and pro-liberty side point it out. And for those who think we’re pulling wool over your eyes and question where we get this idea from.
The simple answer is “read the bills.”
I know most of you won’t ever read a bill- even if your life was on the line. You’d rather eat the bullet than die of boredom. Believe me- I understand. But if you read the bills that get proposed you’ll see a common thread going through them. Certain groups are given special permissions to keep using the things that have been banned for everyone else. Generally those groups are police officers both active and retired, and Hollywood- No, I’m not joking here. No mention of the military or federal government, because- let’s be honest- they aren’t writing laws to control themselves.
But one group you NEVER see an exemption for is retired veterans (or even honorably discharged veterans). I find this rather interesting (and honestly a little insulting) given that one of the arguments for restricting “assault weapons” is that the regular Joe doesn’t know how to use them. This is a stupid and fallacious argument but let’s pretend that it’s 100% true.
Veterans- especially combat vets in combat occupational specialties- aren’t so encumbered. From early on in many veterans service they learned how to not only use, but the legalities of using, the exact weapons that all the tender hearted sociopathic lawmakers wish to prevent you from owning. Veterans of many stripes from all the branches (maybe even the Coast Guard and Spaceforce) are experts in the safe use of these weapons. In short, this group more than any other is the very group who SHOULD be exempted from just about every gun control law on the books.
And yet, we never see this exemption. So why don’t the retired and honorably discharged get an exemption to own “assault weapons” and “high capacity magazines” when they are the most qualified people in society to own and use such weapons?
Some may wonder if the reason this group of citizen isn’t exempted from these laws is that they aren’t sworn to uphold the laws, but rather to “protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and DOMESTIC.” I mean, call me crazy, but it’s interesting that the group who swore an oath to defend the nation against external and internal threats aren’t allowed to own weapons under these egregious laws, but the enforcers of governmental mandates- who have no legal obligation to protect you from harm I might add- are always exempted.
Now, I’m not disparaging law enforcement officers. I think the majority are good people trying to do the best that they can. But those officers who were never vets aren’t the same caliber of people. They got their education in school- and not the real world- about law enforcement. They are literally the heavies of our government, meant to keep US in line, while the veteran community are the heavies of the people meant to keep us free.
When I read the second amendment, and the various works surrounding the founding of our nation, I don’t see and abdication of our own safety and liberties to an overarching governmental authority. What I see is, as my lefty writing professor put it, the right to individual sovereignty. The idea that each man is his own king, and each woman is her own queen, and that every person has the right and obligation to take care of themselves. And we know they meant what they wrote, because they literally fought a war against THE superpower of the time to earn themselves and their posterity the ability to act on those inalienable rights of the human condition.
Restricting those who have sworn the oath to protect those rights of every citizen from internal and external threats seems like an obvious move to de-fang the snake, and put “the people” in their place. I’m not down for that, and I think most Americans aren’t either.
So, to all my fellow Americans who would like to see the civilian right to own arms curtailed, I offer this simple fix to alleviate the worries of people like me, and ensure that those who know best how to employ these arms and use them safely are the only ones who do.
I would be willing to entertain any gun control proposals to curb the civilian ownership of arms if every gun control law on the books was given an exemption for those honorably discharged from the armed forces after completing their obligations to their contracts. Simply put, you make it so that the veteran community doesn’t have to follow those laws you wish to shove down the throats of regular Americans. Be willing to do that, and I’ll be willing to listen to your proposals. I may even be willing to support them.
But these carve outs for vets must be non-repealable. They must not have a sunset provision, and there cannot be ANY restrictions in what a veteran may own with regards to weapons- except MAYBE when it comes to nukes. Maybe.
That’s my opening offer. And the only things on the table that are up for negotiations are the nukes. If a fighter pilot wants to own an F-35 with the latest air-to-air missiles, they can. If a cannon cocker wants to own a 155mm howitzer, they can. If an admiral wants to own a battleship fully kitted out to drop 16 inch crater makers, they can. If a lowly grunt wishes to own a Mk-19 and an M-4 with all the bells and whistles, they can.
No registry.
A stupid simple and easy background check to ensure they haven’t committed a felony.
And a cash transaction (maybe even a “the first one is on us” government subsidized purchase for individual arms).
I’d even be willing to go so far as to mandate that the veteran show a government issued ID that states they are able to purchase arms. Hell- I’ll include such a provision on my own. “Every veteran, upon successfully completing their term of service, shall be given at the time of their discharge, a government issued ID that marks them as a veteran of the armed forces of the United States, and that they, by the mandate of the people of the United States, may own and possess all arms currently used by the armed forces of the United States.”
This will only be revocable if they are convicted by a jury of their peers for a capital offense, in which they have been deemed a danger to the people of the United States.
It’s a starting point- and there are a couple things I’d be willing to negotiate. But I’m willing to bet even this isn’t gonna move the needle.
Because it’s not about public safety- it’s about control. It always has been.
So, what do you think of my modest proposal? Should honorably discharged vets be immune to all gun laws on the books, or do you believe that vets become regular civilians after their terms of service? Let me know in the comments.