It happened again. Three times in a little over a week, a mass murderer has injured and killed innocent victims. Responses are on their way while preventative measures are well past due.
What our government cannot do is a response catering to the masses because they “believe it is the right thing to do.” Let us enter into reality. The initial proposals are short on details but for the lack of a better term, present at best a slippery slope and at worst an affront the United States Constitution.
Let’s focus on the first two amendments of the Constitution. First, for those who have forgotten or never learned about the constitution in public schools, there is quite a process for amending it. The 1st Amendment states that there shall be no law prohibiting freedom of speech. The 2nd Amendment states that the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
The founders created the Constitution with the idea that it should be difficult to change. This is the very reason why it requires a 2/3 majority of the House and Senate OR a constitutional convention.
Two of the most prominent possible reforms in response to the shootings are gun restrictions and the government working with social media to target possibly problematic people.
Based on what we know, the 2nd Amendment has already been infringed upon. Most recently, with a ban on bump stocks. Did this prevent the mass shootings that occurred after that ban? The reason for the 2nd Amendment is for many reasons – primarily to protect ourselves from an intrusive and/or tyrannical government (which happens in large nations all over the world) and for self-protection.
Every week, dozens of murders happen in inner cities (un-reported by the media) with near total bans of guns. Data shows 29 of the top 30 homicides in US cities by gun violence are controlled and have been controlled by Democrats for many years.
Walmart, such as the one in El Paso where the radical racist, eco-terrorist causes the most carnage, is a gun-free store. Both K-12 and college campuses where shootings have taken place are gun-free zones. The same goes for most churches.
When we disarm people and eliminate the possibility of self-protection, it is causing greater damage to the people than it should have caused. This is why, in their infinite wisdom, the founders gave us the right to bear arms. It is time that both Democrats and Republicans ceased infringing on that right and for local communities to have the citizenry and for those in public trust embrace their right to defend themselves. It is time for approved teachers and staff to defend themselves at schools and for large businesses to train their security in gun safety so they can carry and prevent mass death.
Another issue in which there has not been much detail, is collaboration between the government and social media. Not knowing about what is in store, this very well may compound a problem that is rapidly spiraling out of control.
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and even Pinterest are silencing individuals, media and businesses at an alarming rate. These platforms are even blocking their ability to make money, which is an available part of their marketing. The platforms are doing this by labeling conservatism as hate speech among other things.
So will the government be giving these platforms approval to not only determine what they deem to be hateful but also remove the subjects from the platforms? These companies have already taken advantage of protected status to censor conservatism. My worry is that they will be emboldened to not just report their perceived “hate speech” to the government, but increase censorship of the views they determine to be unacceptable.
We know that social media becomes chaotic at times. Sometimes that is the price to pay when a country has the freedom to speak. Believe it or not, America stands above many democracies who do not share that right.
Let’s do what we can do to prevent murder without trampling on our freedoms. This problem is evil people of all races, all religions and all political philosophies. Our founders created a Constitutional Republic to protect us from mob rule. The Republic is always the answer, not the ebbs and flows of society.
Preston Baines is a Political and Policy Consultant. You can reach him at prestonbaines@gmail.com.
RSS - Posts