Gun grab indeed
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Editor,
The Jan. 13 Kristi Niemeyer Valley View column purports Rep. Ryan Zinke’s call that “President Obama’s executive action to close loopholes in federal gun laws a ‘gun grab’” is misplaced.
Rep. Zinke, hardly a “right-wing conservative,” is dead-on regarding it being a “gun grab.” There isn’t space enough to dissect the validity of the statistics my former newspaper colleague quotes; but economist Dr. John Lott (crimeresearch.org), using federal government stats has demonstrated violent crime (property crime has risen) has declined considerably over the last few decades. Further, none of the proposed regulations would have prevented any of the violent crimes.
More importantly, the “Principate” executive action is unconstitutional — giving the unelected administrative branch of government even more unaccountable power over the sovereign individual — which the U.S. Constitution was designed to prevent. This is soft tyranny.
James Madison likely assumed the sovereign individual is responsible. Feral humans don’t follow the law. That’s why we have magistrates, courts and jails. The second amendment is the “teeth” that secures our unalienable rights — including that part of the first amendment that protected Ms. Niemeyer’s livelihood.
The supposition these executive orders close “loopholes” is patently absurd. There are no “loopholes.” This so-called closing of “loopholes” is nothing more than attack on private property rights (the basis of “the pursuit of happiness”). To criminalize, or put expensive unwarranted restrictions on the private sale of one’s property is the same as requiring someone to obtain an auto dealer license to put a “for sale” sign on an old pickup truck.
There are laws on the books the “Principate” could enforce and chooses not to that might cut down the ability of feral human beings to create mayhem, such as prosecuting “straw buyers” in high crime locales (maybe Chicago?).
Glenn Timm
Polson
