Responsible Gun Ownership
by The Libertarian Party
Libertarians, like other Americans, want to be able to walk city
streets safely and be secure in their homes. We also want our
Constitutional rights protected, to guard against the erosion of our
civil liberties. In particular, Libertarians want to see all people
treated equally under the law, as our Constitution requires. America's
millions of gun owners are people, too.
Law-abiding, responsible citizens do not and should not need to ask
anyone's permission or approval to engage in a peaceful activity. Gun
ownership, by itself, harms no other person and cannot morally justify
criminal penalties.
CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS
America's founders fought the Revolutionary War to throw off British
tyranny. Most of the revolutionaries owned and used their own guns in
that war. After the war, in 1789, the 13 American States adopted the
Constitution, creating the federal government. Before ratifying the
Constitution, the people demanded a Bill of Rights to prevent our
government from depriving them of their liberties as the British had
done.
One of the most important protections we have against government
tyranny is that we are presumed innocent of any crime until proven
guilty, before a jury, in a proper trial.
But gun control advocates would declare all gun owners guilty
without trial, simply for owning guns, although millions of them have
never used their guns to harm another person. Such blanket condemnation
is immoral, unfair and contrary to the principles on which America was
founded.
THE PROHIBITION LESSON
Gun control advocates are much like the prohibitionists of the early
20th Century. By making liquor illegal, they spawned organized crime,
caused blood, violent turf wars and corrupted the criminal justice
system. Today's war on drugs has exactly the same results.
Prohibition didn't stop liquor use; the drug laws can't stop drug
use. Making gun ownership illegal will not stop gun ownership.
The primary victim of these misguided efforts is the honest citizen
whose civil rights are trampled as frustrated legislators and police
tighten the screws.
Banning guns will make guns more expensive and give organized crime
a great opportunity to make profits in a new black market for weapons.
Street violence will increase in new turf wars. Criminals will not give
up their guns. But, many law abiding citizens will, leaving them
defenseless against armed bandits.
THE RIGHT OF SELF DEFENSE
Libertarians agree with the majority of Americans who believe they
have the right to decide how best to protect themselves, their families
and their property. Millions of Americans have guns in their homes and
sleep more comfortably because of it. Studies show that where gun
ownership is illegal, residential burglaries are higher. A man with a
gun in his home is no threat to you if you aren't breaking into it.
The police do not provide security in your home, your business or on
the street. They show up after the crime to take reports and do
detective work. The poorer the neighborhood, the riskier it is for
peaceful residents.
Only an armed citizenry can be present in sufficient numbers to
prevent or deter violent crime before it starts, or to reduce its
spread. Interviews with convicted felons indicate that fear of the
armed citizen significantly deters crime. A criminal is more likely to
be driven off from a particular crime by an armed victim than to be
convicted and imprisoned for it. Thus, widespread gun ownership will
make neighborhoods safer.
Foolish politicians and police now seek to ban semi-automatic
"assault rifles". They ignore the fact that only honest citizens will
comply; criminals will still have them.
Such a ban will only increase the criminals' ability to victimize
the innocent.
The Solution: PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY
Guns are not the problem. They are inanimate objects. Gun control
advocates talk as if guns could act on their own, as if human beings
cannot control them, so the uncontrollable guns must be banished.
Let us put the responsibility where it belongs, on the owner and
user of the gun. If he or she acts responsibly, without attacking
others or causing injury negligently, no crime or harm has been done.
Leave them in peace.
But, if a person commits a crime with a gun, then impose the
severest penalties for the injury done to the victim. Similarly, hold
the negligent gun user fully liable for all harm his negligence does to
others.
Rather than banning guns, the politicians and the police should
encourage gun ownership, as well as education and training programs.
A responsible, well-armed and trained citizenry is the best
protection against domestic crime and the threat of foreign invasion.
America's founders knew that. It is still true today.
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