For certain columnists it seems to be in vogue to create a certain scenario, no matter how unrealistic, and then frighten everyone with what could happen in such a scenario.
So here goes. Assume that gangs in Heber Springs have migrated from Little Rock and are terrifying the town. Probably the main reason for the invasion of the Crypts and the Bloods is the action of the city council. Pressured by liberal activists and while other citizens were apathetic, the council passed a gun ban for Heber Springs’ residents.
Naturally the gangs were delighted with the council’s action and because of the number of the terrorists and their violence, they simply overwhelmed the local authorities. The results being our citizens in Heber are continually being attacked with robberies, murders and rapes.
Is this farfetched? Perhaps but perhaps not. In cities such as Chicago and the District of Columbia local officials were so concerned about the growing crime rates, they passed restrictive gun laws. Like so many namby-pamby liberals they believed the problem to be the guns not the people committing the crimes. In fact these laws have not decreased the murders and other crimes; it has simply made it easier for the criminals to attack with lesser probability that their victims would be armed. In Chicago and other cities a black male is in higher danger of being murdered or maimed than if they are serving on the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan. What a pretty picture.
With this background let’s move to the historic ruling by the Supreme Court on June 28th of this year. The court ruled that the Second Amendment of the Constitution means what it says and private citizens have the right to bear arms. It debunked the tired old excuse of the lefties that the Second Amendment means in times of emergencies local militias will be allowed. The other lame excuse is that times are different now and since we are all civilized and better educated, there should be no reason for individuals to be armed.
The Supreme Court case involved a 76 year old black male named Otis McDonald. Under the court’s ruling he was given the right to buy a handgun to protect himself from black gang bangers who were terrorizing his suburban Chicago neighborhood. This overturns the local Chicago law that denied him his right to purchase a weapon.
Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the opinion and as he has stated on other occasions the problem in black communities is not that there are too many guns but rather there are too many criminals.
An interesting twist in this Supreme Court decision is that Justice Thomas brought in the race aspect. He indicated that organizations such as the Klu Klux Klan and the White Brotherhood spread terror among the blacks. The use of firearms is often the only way for blacks to protect themselves. Since Obama has become president, it is hard to dismiss Thomas’s contention since there is now a resurgence of these racist organizations. This completely bamboozles the liberals since they find themselves open to racial criticism if they attack Justice Thomas’ claim that this ruling protects the black man.
There is a sad and haunting side of this historic Supreme Court ruling - this being that only 5 of 9 justices voted to uphold the Second Amendment. Four of the justices evidently believe our constitution is a “living” document and should be interpreted differently since we have the benefit of 235 years’ experience. Scary!
It wasn’t too many years ago we had an incident in Heber Springs involving a local merchant. His business had been burglarized numerous times and he was fed up. After these repeated break-ins and when the police could not apprehend the thieving burglar, the owner staked himself in his store, and sure enough here comes the repeated violator. In complete darkness the intruder was ordered to stop and when he didn’t obey the owner shot and killed him. Since these kinds of hoodlums are usually armed, how was the owner to know if bullets would be coming his way? After a local investigation no charges were filed. Can you imagine the outcome if local law would have forbidden the owner to carry a handgun?
Fortunately outlawing gun ownership in Arkansas is against popular belief for most of us, but we must continually be on guard to protect our constitutional rights. For those that are constantly complaining that guns kill people, I have this question. Every year thousands of Americans are killed or injured in pick-up truck accidents. Should pick-ups also be banned?
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Have you heard about the panicked environmentalist who warns we must make certain the masseuse who claims Al Gore assaulted her be silenced? The reason – if Al Gore is convicted and jailed, we will all die of global warming.
(Jerry Jackson of Heber Springs writes his “conservative viewpoint” column each Wednesday)
