2028: A Gun Control Nightmare
by Annie
annie@codyexpress.com
April 23, 2001
My thanks to Sirgawain for
suggesting this article.
April 23, 2028.....
I
suppose old age is beginning to catch up with me.
Never before have I forgotten this anniversary.
Eleven years ago today - April 23, 2017 – the day our
leaders proudly announced that they had finally succeeded in eliminating guns
from our society. As I listened to
the triumphant announcements of gun control advocates and politicians, I thought
about my revolutionary ancestors who fought, bled and died to secure the rights
that made ours a truly free society. How
disappointed they would be, I thought, if they could see the road America has
taken. I can still recall the
sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach as I heard one politician after another
tell me how much safer our world would be now that firearms would no longer
circulate throughout the land. I
shed a tear or two for all those who would learn the hard way that they had
fallen for the deceit and lies of a small minority who duped them into
sacrificing freedom for security – a false security that would never be found.
April 23, 2017 – an
incredibly dark day in the history of the land of the free and the home of the
brave.
Oh,
they were clever. First they told
us we would be safer if we would just institute background checks for gun
purchases. It seemed to make sense
and many considered it harmless. After
all, no one wanted felons, the mentally deranged and “those who shouldn’t
have them” to purchase guns. It
was touted as a common sense solution to curbing gun violence without infringing
on the rights of law-abiding citizens to own firearms.
Many, many Americans supported the idea and vilified those of us who saw
the proposal as an infringement of our rights.
We were the scum of the earth – anti-citizens – who didn’t care
about the deaths of innocents at the hands of those who should not have guns.
In spite of our cries that Americans would live to regret it, the Brady
Bill passed.
Following a few other
“modest” gun control laws that dealt with gun shows and
waiting periods, we
were told that there were still too many children dying from firearms violence
– whether accidental or intentional. We
were told that we must protect the children and restrict access to firearms by
anyone who had children in their home. Those
of us who had grown up in homes with guns and who had raised kids around guns
knew that the gun wasn’t the problem -
other factors were to blame. But
again, Americans agreed and legislation was passed to forbid any parent to own a
gun.
The elderly were next on the
list. We were told that too many of
the elderly were dying as a result of violence or suicide with a gun.
They told us that the older generation simply didn’t have the agility
to handle firearms – their reactions were too slow, their minds too feeble.
We had to protect them. Those
of us who truly cared about the elderly understood that they were among the most
vulnerable when it came to crime. Crooks
and thugs assumed, as the gun-grabbers did, that they were too feeble and slow
to put up any serious
resistance. We
knew better – many elderly people had successfully saved their own lives or
the lives of others with guns and we had the statistics to prove it.
But Americans supported, and eventually achieved, prohibiting the use and
ownership of firearms by people over the age of 55.
Within
a short amount of time, we were presented with falsified statistics about the
number of women who were injured or died as a result of having their own
firearms used against them. The
problem, according to the gun-grabbers, was epidemic.
“Something must be done,” we were told, “to protect these women who
are too foolish to know that they shouldn’t try to fight back.”
Gun rights activists tried to expose their bogus statistics, but our
words were ignored by an ever-increasingly biased
media. And once again
Americans bought their argument. Soon,
women were forbidden to purchase or own firearms.
Finally we went after
divorced men, and later all men, on the theory that each man in our society had
had at least one “sour” relationship which could compel him to commit a
crime of passion against a former female acquaintance.
“Women,” we were told, “cannot defend themselves against these
beasts because they are forbidden to possess weapons.
We must take the guns out of men’s hands to protect the women.”
This was the toughest battle, as most hunters are male (no offense to the
ladies). They fought mightily to
keep their hunting rifles and shotguns. But
eventually this too failed, as the animal rights activists joined in the fight
to protect those who were unable to protect themselves – the defenseless
four-legged creatures that shared our bountiful land.
As time went by, more and
more small segments of the population were forbidden to own firearms, each time
with a “good, common sense” reason for doing so, and by April 23, 2017, our
nation’s leaders had managed to outlaw guns in the hands of every citizen with
the exception of law enforcement, judges, the military and elite members of the
political hierarchy.
At each step in the process,
those of us who truly valued freedom and the principles on which our nation was
founded tried to warn gullible citizens who fell for media hype and gun control
lies. We put forth the truth as
loudly and consistently as we could. We
tried to tell them they would regret the actions they were supporting.
Our warnings fell on deaf ears. Safety
was paramount – safety of our parents, our children, our women, our wildlife.
Guns were the worst evil to infect our land. They had to be eliminated.
On
April 23, 2017, as I saw the last vestiges of our Second Amendment right fade
away, I put down my pen. Appeals to
common sense and logic were useless and would be so for some time to come.
It was clear that the only way the people of our nation would come to
realize what they had done was through experience.
Americans had reached into their liberty purse and purchased a false
dream from charlatans and con artists. Only
cold, hard reality would convince them that they had been swindled.
I knew it wouldn’t happen overnight – it would take time.
I wasn’t even sure I would live to see an awakening of the masses.
And maybe it’s still too soon. But
old age is creeping in, the memory is failing and I have to try one last time
before my fingers are too twisted to type.
I had put down my pen, but I
hadn’t abandoned the fight. I
closely followed the crime statistics and watched them rise slightly in the
beginning and then finally climb dramatically upward, year after year.
In spite of the fact that the major news outlets tried to suppress
reports of sky-rocketing crime and violence, my collection of clippings,
personal stories, crime reports and such grew as rapidly as the crime in the
streets was growing. Often, as I
stared at the ever-increasing number of boxes in my basement, I wondered if the
time was right. I wondered if the
American people had had enough. I
wondered if they were close to a point of demanding that their rights be
restored. I wondered if it was time
to pick up my pen and start anew. I
don’t know if the time is right, but I can remain silent no longer.
Too many stories need to be told.
Consider the case of Gail.
Gail had a promising career and bright future.
She was young, energetic and loved life.
But, at the age of 28, tragedy struck.
She was accosted in a dark, deserted parking garage, raped, beaten and
left for dead by a knife-wielding assailant.
Gail, like so many others, had believed that the police would protect
her. She had a whistle (which she
used), mace (which she tried to use) and training in karate (which was useless
against her very large attacker). But,
other than those simple tactics, Gail had placed responsibility for her safety
and security in the hands of others.
Gail spent many long months
in therapy trying to cope with the emotional aftermath of the attack and finally
determined that she would never again feel safe unless she found a way to
protect herself. Eventually she
managed to procure a gun through the black market.
She drove to a deserted spot far outside town to learn to use it.
She loaded the weapon, aimed at a nearby tree and pulled the trigger.
The gun, which had been constructed in someone’s basement by a
gentleman who made easy money selling shoddy firearms to people like Gail,
exploded in her hand. Shards
of cheaply manufactured metal exploded in all directions, some burying
themselves deeply into Gail’s body. The
hand that had held the gun was all but severed from the wrist.
A few days later, Gail's lifeless body was found lying in a dried pool of
blood – she had bled to death on that deserted lot far outside town.
If Gail had been able to purchase a legal gun from a reputable
manufacturer she would in all likelihood still be with us today. How many
others have died under similar circumstances will, I’m sure, never be known.
Or
consider the case of Marcus and Rhonda. Marcus
made a good living and Rhonda stayed at home raising their two children, ages 5
and 8. They had a modest, but
comfortable home in a large neighborhood near the outskirts of a small
midwestern town. On a cool fall
morning they awoke to discover patrol cars and ambulances parked in front of the
house next door. Within a short
while, Marcus and Rhonda learned the grisly details of the robbery and murder
that had occurred while they slept. All
three members of the family next door were dead.
As details were reported in the days that followed, it became clear that
help had been summoned but didn’t arrive in time to save the lives of their
neighbors.
Rhonda, naturally, became
quite concerned for the safety of her children as well as herself and her
husband. After much consideration
and many discussions, Marcus and Rhonda made a decision to defy the law and
obtain a shotgun for home protection. Marcus
began to quietly make inquiries from people he trusted about obtaining a weapon.
He knew, of course, that weapons had been outlawed, but he also knew they
could be had if you wanted one – through the black market.
After about two weeks and a couple of referrals, Marcus obtained a gun.
Three nights later law enforcement officials burst through his front
door. Marcus had been set-up by a
paid government informant who helped him secure the shotgun.
The authorities ransacked his home, terrorized his children and
threatened him and his wife as they searched for the weapon.
Eventually, Marcus and his wife, who had never gotten so much as a
speeding ticket, were charged with illegal possession of a firearm and child
endangerment, among a long list of other charges.
Their children were placed in the custody of the State and the couple
spent the next two years in prison. They
haven’t seen their children in years and have all but given up any hope of
ever being reunited. Four innocent
lives were destroyed because good parents wanted to protect their children.
My boxes contain thousands of
stories like those of Gail and Marcus: Ranchers
who couldn’t protect their herds from predators and lost everything they had
spent a lifetime building; Fathers who buried sons or daughters because they had
nothing more than a shovel or baseball bat to protect their children from
vicious animals; Defenseless men, women and children who suffered injury and
worst at the hands of crooks, rapists and murders.
Thousands upon thousands of people who would be leading happy, safe,
productive lives if they had simply been permitted to exercise their God given
right to keep and bear arms for the protection of themselves and their loved
ones.
It
seemed for a while that Americans were beginning to realize the horrible mistake
they had made when they began to demand an explanation for the explosive
increases in crime. But the
politicians stepped in again. This
time we were told that the problem was illegal trafficking in and manufacturing
of guns. “A solution to the
violence and personal tragedy suffered by our citizens is on the way,” we were
told, “in the form of new legislation expanding the power of law enforcement
officials to search for and seize illegal guns.”
Once again, Americans sacrificed freedom for safety.
Vehicles became subject to
search at any time, without cause, in the fight to abolish the illegal gun
market. Homes and offices were
raided in the vitally important effort to seize weapons and manufacturing
equipment. Women were arrested and
convicted because they chose to accept responsibility for their own protection
and defied the law by owning a gun for self-defense.
Honest citizens were jailed for exercising a right secured and guaranteed
by our forefathers. Families were
torn apart and neighbors turned on neighbors.
The number of firearms offenders in our jails and prisons exceeded the
highest numbers ever housed for drug offenses.
And yet today, in spite of
all that, gun violence is more rampant than ever.
Gangs of criminals have turned our streets into war zones as they battle
police and one another. Our
defenseless citizens, who are easy prey for thugs and predators, hide out in
homes and offices that have become fortresses with bars on the windows and
alarms on the doors. Armed
criminals terrorize our neighborhoods and businesses.
Neighbors report neighbors, children report parents, doctors report
patients and friends report friends who own firearms.
Our prisons are overflowing with honest citizens whose only crime was to
try to protect themselves and their families from predators by arming themselves
with a gun. And all the while,
crime rates continue to soar.
Just where is the gun-free,
safe society our leaders promised? Is
this the America you envisioned when you gave up your right to defend your
families and your homes? How many
more freedoms will be sacrificed; how many more lives will be ruined; how many
more bodies will be buried before Americans stand up and say, “Enough is
enough?” It took a lifetime to
get where we are today and it will take another lifetime to undo the damage that
has been done. Have you had enough,
America? Is it time to turn the
tide? For the sake of our children,
our grandchildren and our country’s future, I certainly hope so.
Other Articles by Annie
Other Works of Fiction
with a Message
