Friday, February 15, 2008

Pro-gun liberal

There is a phenomenum afoot, and I am a part of it. If you know me,then you know that I am on the Obama bandwagon. I am much more liberal than he is, but no candidate for Presidency can ever be as liberal as I am.

Assuming Obama gets the nomination, he will be subjected to serious scrutinity between the convention and the general election. I think the topic that will put him in the greatest jeopardy of losing the general election is his position on gun control.

I am a civil libertarian. I support the citizenry's right to defend itself from a tyrannical government. I also have been a hunter (rarely succesfully) since childhood. I support Barak Obama without reservation. Why?

For one, his message is more important than a single issue (really, my ONLY issue with him.) Also, the Second Amendment (along with a few other critical portions of the Constitution) is already pretty much stripped of any real authority anyway. Don't believe me? Well, if the intent of the Second Amendment is to allow for the citizenry to protect itself from its Government, then we should have legal access to ANY weapon that the Government has access to. Obviously, I recognize the impracticality of this, I'm just saying. I think it's fair to say that violent overthrow of the US Government by the citizenry is unrealistic. As such, is your life or mine really affected by banning a gun designed for the sole purpose of killing as many people as possible in as short a period of time as possible? Not unless your a criminal.

Finally, what power the Second Amendment still enjoys is not in jeopardy. Gun control does not enjoy enough support to be threatened by any single person, no matter how powerful. That is just a fact. The NRA is one of the most powerful lobbies in the country and any restrictions on gun ownership for recreational purposes is in no danger whatsoever.

I've heard all the platitudes. "If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns." There is substantial evidence to suggest otherwise, but it is not the intent of this blog entry to make the case for or against gun control. I am merely trying to show how a gun-toting liberal can enthusiastically support Barak Obama. That is all.

Much Love,

YD