Does your politician trust you? To find out, ask him this

[Little-Acorn]

You know, it strikes me that there is a very good way to quickly figure out how much your elected political leader trusts you, the voter.

Does he trust you to do the right thing with a gun?

Or does he believe you need a law to FORCE you to do the right thing? Carry it safely, use it safely, store it safely?

Or worse, does he believe that he must forbid you from owning a gun at all?

The founders of our country based its government on the idea that society is best served by free people making their own decisions, acting on them freely, and taking the consequences. They favored very few laws, and those only against activities which would directly violate people's rights: Theft, assault, murder etc. And they favored the idea that such laws should be enacted and enforced as close to the people as possible: at local or state levels rather than Federal.

In fact, many of the laws in the Constitution that the Framers wrote, weren't intended for citizens at all. They were for government: Requiring that government do certain things (run the armed forces, coin money, provide jury trials etc.), or forbidding government from doing certain things (conducting unwarranted searches, restricting the press or religion, banning personal weapons etc.)

Today, politicians seem to vary quite a lot in how much they think government should do. Some think you can handle your own retirement planning, others think you should be forced to join a plan like Social Security, and pay for the privilege of course. Some think you should be free to use your land as you see fit, others believe you are better off with laws telling you you can't drain a swamp or build a house on your own land.

How can you tell if a politician trusts you to handle your own affairs and learn from your own mistakes, as much as the Framers did?

Ask them one question: "Do you think I should be free to own and carry any kind of personal firearm I like, with no restrictions?"

Those that answer "Yes", probably trust you to be able to handle the rest of your affairs too. Those who answer "No", don't trust you and feel they must control you.

Which kind of politician do you think you should vote for, next election? One who trusts you as a free citizen? Or one who does not trust you and feels you need to be controlled by government - that is, by people like him - in the important but routine matters of life?

The issue is much larger than just the simple ownership of a gun. It has to do with the politician's basic philosophy of government, and what he believes government is for. Is the purpose of government, to control and micromanage what you do? Or is its purpose to keep anyone from doing that, and to keeep you free to make your own decisions and learn from your own mistakes, and determine your own fate?

The issue is larger than simple gun ownersip. But a politician's position on many such important matters, can be identified by his response to this one issue: does he trust the average citizen to own and use a gun properly?

 

[disneydude]

The founders of our country based its government on the idea that society is best served by free people making their own decisions, acting on them freely, and taking the consequences. They favored very few laws, and those only against activities which would directly violate people's rights: Theft, assault, murder etc. And they favored the idea that such laws should be enacted and enforced as close to the people as possible: at local or state levels rather than Federal.

This is exactly the problem that I have with the neo-cons, the right-winger and many Democrats. Many people who claim to be "conservative" have become advocates for BIG GOVERNMENT. Government should be limited to laws that only legistate against activities which directly violate people's rights, such as those you state. Why do we need the government to step in and legislate things such as homosexuality, gay marriage, reproductive choice, religion ...etc. Government should stay out of moral issues and let each person's religion and principles dictate that for them.

Ask them one question: "Do you think I should be free to own and carry any kind of personal firearm I like, with no restrictions?"

I would take the question one step further "Do you think I should be free to live my life the way that I choose within my own personal beliefs/morals as long as it doesn't directly violate another's rights such as Theft, assault, murder etc..."

 

[Just Me 2]

I think if more people were responsible and took care of themselves instead of relying on the government than the government wouldn't be in our business.

 

[Ikari]

The Republocrats do not represent anything close to small government politics. The only thing they strive for is the expansion of their power, they will continue to grow government to expand their power and further subjugate the people. It's unfortunate that we have collapsed into a single party system that merely has the pretense of being dual party. But if one is to examine the policies of the Republicans and Democrats, they both engage in big government socialism. It's actually a very dangerous situation for We the People to be in. We have to be able to exert some control over the government, but if they change the rules and the ruling elite become one, there isn't much choice they give us.

 

[Spartacus FPV]

Trust a politician? :rofl

If they're not for big government, they're for big brother. Our f**ked up electorate forces them to lie about what it is they truly believe or know to be true in order to "Play the game" and we don't seem to care to do anything about that.

I believe someone else's Douglas Adams quote said it best "Anyone capable of getting themselves elected president has shown that they should not be allowed to do the job."

We'll be able to trust politicians when they get some inkling that the American people are ready to hear some truth. Good luck on that one...

 

[Simon W. Moon]

Moderator's Warning:

Moved to a less inappropriate forum.

 

[unwashed]

Ask them one question: "Do you think I should be free to own and carry any kind of personal firearm I like, with no restrictions?"

Those that answer "Yes", probably trust you to be able to handle the rest of your affairs too. Those who answer "No", don't trust you and feel they must control you.

The whole issue is a little more complicated then that. You have a stake in this as well. Do you think anyone should be free to own and carry any kind of firearm they like, with no restrictions?

If you answer yes, then you have to accept gun crime as one of the problems. When we talk about gun control I think we need to talk about two issues. I agree you are correct; one of those issues is you right to revolt against an unfair government. The other is the danger of readily avail firearms. I grew up in a neighborhood where gun crime was rampant. It did not convince me a well arm population is a peaceful one.

My own feeling is that we should have the right to bare arms. However, we have to accept that means it will be easier for people to kill each other. I can't cry foul because the murderer had a gun.

I completely understand people who want to disarm our country, but I will never trust any government enough to agree to it.

 

[rivrrat]

Any time you have freedoms, you are going to have a portion of society abusing those freedoms. This is a fact that a free society accepts.

The answer to that problem is not to eliminate the freedom, but rather to punish those who abuse the freedom and try to make it unfavorable for them to choose to abuse the freedom.

 

[Yosarian]

You know, it strikes me that there is a very good way to quickly figure out how much your elected political leader trusts you, the voter.

Does he trust you to do the right thing with a gun?

Or does he believe you need a law to FORCE you to do the right thing? Carry it safely, use it safely, store it safely?

Or worse, does he believe that he must forbid you from owning a gun at all?

The question isn't just "does the government trust YOU to own a gun." The question is "does the government trust your idiot neignbor who almost burned down his house by trying to do his own electrical work with a gun". Or "does the government trust the gang member who killed 3 people but was never actually convicted of anything to own a gun."