Why Gun Control is Dangerous

“No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.”

                                                                -Thomas Jefferson

                As of 2009 the population in the United States, according to JustFacts.com, was roughly 309 million people.  Based on production data from firearms manufacturers, there are around 300 million privately owned firearms.  100 million or so are handguns (pistols).  Firearms are grouped into three different types: rifles, pistols, and shotguns.  Both rifles and shotguns are categorized as long guns.  In the United States a person must be of the age 18 or above to purchase a long gun, 21 years+ for pistols.  For the past century, the progressive left has sought to infringe upon the 2^nd Amendment rights of every citizen in this country.  What part of “Shall not be infringed” is too hard to understand!?  Gun control in the United States is unconstitutional and dangerous for the country and her citizenry.

                Thomas Jefferson, in his book “Commonplace Book”, wrote calling gun control on example of “false utility”-a backwards and irrational position on crime prevention that will only serve to make the problem worse.  The other founding fathers would not be pleased with the federal government throwing the Bill of Rights and the Constitution out the window.  For that reason I believe that they would support the right for the citizens to possess “military grade” firearms.  

Before we go any further let’s take a look at the Assault Weapons ban of 1994.  In Section 3 ‘Definitions’, any semi-automatic rifle that is able to take a detachable magazine and that has:

·         A folding or telescoping stock (i.e. a but stock that collapses or lengthens depending on user preference)

·         A threaded barrel (i.e. a barrel with an extended tip with threads for screwing on a sound suppressor, flash-suppressor, or any other device to the front of the firearm.)

·         A pistol grip (again another feature for user comfort)

·         A forward grip (on a rifle proper shooting from dictates that the non-trigger hand is forward of the magazine for stability)

·         A barrel shroud

A gun with any of these features would be illegal to manufacture or sell in the United States.  The last item on the list is a barrel shroud.  This term has caused a lot of confusion for the media and others reading the bill.  According to Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.), who wants to ban barrel shrouds but admitted that she did not know what it is, a barrel shroud is a “shoulder thing that goes up.”  A barrel shroud is actually a composite, metal, or plastic device that partially or completely encircles the barrel to prevent the shooter from sustaining burns from the barrel as it heats up.  The evidence shows that those who want this sort of ban, want shooting a firearm to be more dangerous for the user and other innocent people.  

The author of the Assault Weapons Ban, Senator Dianne Feinstein, wants to ban firearms based on cosmetic features.  Many people don’t want to be judged by how they look but are perfectly happy to forbid the sale and manufacture of these types of firearms.  Those who want to ban firearms disguise their intent by the careful use of smoke screens.  They twist the verbiage.  They cry “regulation” with the ultimate goal of disarming the citizens of the United States.

Gun control is dangerous because an armed citizenry is essential to maintaining a government that fears the citizens.  When governments no longer fear the citizens, tyranny rises up.  Any piece of legislation that infringes upon the rights of citizens in direct contradiction of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights is void.  It is the duty of every government official at every level to stand in opposition to unconstitutional measures.  The oath of office binds the official to “Support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic.”  When Congress, the Supreme Court, or the executive branch attempt to illegally infringe on the rights of the citizenry, they become a domestic enemy.  The founding fathers recognized that technology would advance, and they made provisions in the Constitution to legally amend it.  However those in power have tried and occasionally succeeded in illegally crafting legislation that infringes on guaranteed rights.  

Before Kristallnacht (the Night of Broken Glass) on Nov. 9-10, 1938, when the Nazis smashed and pillaged, and murdered hundreds of Jews, the Nazi party first imposed regulation on gun ownership. Soon after, they created a national gun registry so they knew who had guns, then they had Kristallnacht, and finally they exterminated over 11 million people.  To keep an event similar out of America, it is imperative that there are no unlawful infringements made on anyone’s rights.  The Nazi government did not fear resistance and look what happened. 

Lincoln Luncheon

me during my speech

    On March 8th,  the Maricopa County Republican Party held the annual Lincoln Luncheon at the El-Zaribah Shrine auditorium in the downtown Phoenix area. My attendance was made possible by Jean Mattox and Vera Anderson of the Deer Valley and Daisy Mountain Tea Parties, respectively.

    I was figuratively floating off the ground as I walked in because I was excited to other people who also have a keen interest in politics.  After my mother and I signed in, we perused the booths of prospective candidates, like gubernatorial candidate Senator Al Melvin, whom I sat with at the Western Conservative Conference, former Mesa Mayor and gubernatorial candidate Scott Smith, and candidate for Superintendent for Public Instruction Diane Douglas.  Also present were Attorney General Horne and the founder of the Center for Self Governance (C.S.G.), Mark Herr, who was the keynote speaker that afternoon.

   Mark Herr introduced the Center for Self Governance.  After showing the audience a short "I'm Mrs. Powel" video, he went on to discuss the success that the Center For Self Governance has had and how that could translate for Arizona's political environment.  Then another person who has also taken some Center for Self Governance classes and I were called up on stage to speak about our experiences with the Center for Self Governance classes to an audience of over 400 people.  Since I had forgotten the speech I was going to give, I just spoke about how the skills that the C.S.G. taught me allowed me to talk to my peers about politics in a way they would understand and get motivated to exercise their civil rights.

  When I made it back to my seat, my lunch had arrived.  As I ate, I spoke with my dining companions.  One gentleman owned his own business and was a military contractor.  He made parts for the F-16, F-18, and F-35 combat fighter planes.  During lunch, all Republican candidates for governor present walked onto the podium and gave a short speech to campaign.

   In conclusion, the Lincoln Day Luncheon is an event that I highly recommend, whether you are involved in the political system or want to be.  You can meet a bunch of different people at the local, county, state, and federal levels by just being there and mingling.

Mark Herr and the Center for Self Governance

After taking the Level 1 class of the Center For Self Governance, which is an organization that teaches citizens how to maintain an open dialogue between government and people, I was able to contact the organization's founder, Mark Herr.  We managed to arrange time for us to get together at a Jason's Deli for an interview.

He was born in England, raised in Korea on a military base, served in the military on Japan, and now lives in Tennessee.  When asked what his background in politics was he answered, "Nothing... I have no background in politics." After seeing how things were going in Tennessee, he met with three other concerned citizens and organized the curriculum and the organization. 

In 1787, after the first constitutional convention, as Benjamin Franklin walked out the door, Mrs. Powel, the wife of the inn owner where the founders were staying, asked him, "What kind of government have you given us?"  Benjamin Franklin replied, "A republic, if you can keep it."  This is significant because when he said "you", he was directing that to a woman who could not vote or own property.  So even if you can't vote or run for office, you are not absolved of your duty to stay involved.  It is very hard to be involved if you don't know the system, though.

The Center of Self Governance teaches to focus on Ms. Powel, not the issues, because Ms. Powel is a metaphor for the ultimate source of power: the people.  "If you don't know how to wield your power then you will be stuck in the quicksand of issues and candidates.  And it will suck you into fighting fires set by people who do not want you to wield power," Mark stated.

People of all walks of life can go to these classes. There have been several Democrat state legislators from Washington State who attended classes.  There have been Democrats, Republicans, young, old, white, black, Hispanics, atheists, Christians, and candidates running against each other in the same class.  It doesn't matter because the Center For Self Governance is not a partisan group.  They teach the fundamentals of liberty, which are all the freedoms described in the Bill of Rights.  Those are God-given, inalienable rights that no bureaucrats can lawfully change.

Mark then outlined what he wanted students to take away from each level class.

1. In level one, students learn that they don't know the language that is spoken at different levels of government. Because they don't know the language, they are losing the battle to keep the republic.  They don't know the difference between a democracy and a republic, power and governance.  Contrary to what is taught, the United States is a republic.
2. In level two, students learn the technical skills to communicate effective self governance.  Things like appearance are very important.  For example, in some parts of America, if you knock on doors wearing a suit, the first impression many residents will have of you is that you are from the police or CPS, whereas in a wealthier part of town if you knock on doors with your pants sagging, people will not open their doors to you because in both scenarios you are deemed a threat.
3. Level three is a macro view of government, much like the way an astronomer studies the night sky. We see the big picture on how and why things work.
4. Then level four is like how a biologist looks into a microscope to see the DNA.  We have a micro view of the workings of government.  In level 3, we looked at Congress as a whole, and now we look at how the various sub-committees work and why they exist. 
5.  Level five brings all the pieces together.  The understanding of the language, the knowledge of the inner workings of government, and an understanding of their fellow citizens all combine to form an effective tool to open up a dialog with government, collaborate with their fellow citizens, and plan strategies with their team to save the republic from social and political corruption. 

I recently attended and finished the class portion of Level 2.  I am having a bunch of fun doing these classes and will continue all the way to Level 5.  One of the things that I took away from the two levels of classes that I've done is the story of Mrs. Powell.  I am looking forward to learning about the more overt workings of government.

Western Conservative Conference

This last month I attended the Western Conservative Conference at the Phoenix Convention Center.  It was a huge honor to also be in attendance at the cocktail party the night before, though I am much too young to drink.  It was at this party that I met Trevor Loudon.  My first impression upon walking in was how cool the day was going to be.  There were so many different booths.  One was for a custom gun shop while another was set up for the Maricopa County Sheriff's Department.

The next morning, I was able to meet and interview the New Zealand blogger, Trevor Loudon before the conference began.  The conference's key note speaker was Herman Cain, whom I had the pleasure to meet.  Herman Cain spoke about the state of our country and how we need to turn things around.  Once the opening proceedings were finished, we were free to attend a selection of breakout panels.

I went to a debate over the Fair Tax versus the Flat Tax. According to the proponents of the Fair Tax, each family would receive about $400 for necessities like food, water, pharmaceuticals, etcetera.  All the people would pay the same rate.  As of now, I am leaning more for the flat tax because it taxes only consumed income.  No income tax or corporate tax.  The two debaters and the moderator maintained a very cordial and respectful atmosphere.

After that, I went to Bias in Media.  There, I learned more about how an individual person's opinion can directly and indirectly affect how they present a topic.  The truth is that media bias is everywhere.  It's on TV, the radio, even in your conversations.  My blog is filled with my personnel bias, and unless I put quotes in, everything else is my interpretation of the facts.  It is not the job of the distributor to make sure that there is no bias, but rather the recipient of the message must decide for themselves what they choose to believe as fact.

We then had a short intermission during which I perused the booths of various organizations.  For example, the Republic Monetary Exchange spoke to people about investing in gold. The Citizens Defense League, a organization in Arizona that offers training in gun ownership and safety for the citizens of Arizona, advocated gun ownership, held a raffle for a Glock pistol, and spread word of an opportunity to attend a safety training called Front Sight at a discount.  As I walked through the booths, I had a rather engaging conversation with the people manning Sheriff Joe Arpiao's booth about the government, ROE (Rules Of Engagement), the Sheriff's Posse.  Also I mined for good questions to ask Sheriff Joe when I interview him.

Realizing that I was short of time, I quickly excused myself to go to my next breakout panel.  It was the gubernatorial "shootout" between four of Arizona's candidates for Governor.  There the candidates, attorney Christine Jones, former U.S. Congressman Frank Riggs, Secretary of State Ken Bennett, and Senator Al Melvin, introduced themselves and discussed some of their campaign principles.  The discussion was then opened up to a Q&A session from the audience.  My main question for all the candidates was what their opinion was on water rights versus mineral rights, because in Arizona you own only the topsoil.  All the minerals and water underneath are state owned.  Private citizens have gone to blows with state governments over mineral rights in other states.

I choose the breakout panels based on how they would affect me.  In a few short years, I will be paying taxes so to find out which system of taxation I liked better I went to the Fair Tax vs. Flat Tax.  As a blogger I am a part of the media, so I went to Media Bias.  And finally since I live in Arizona and since I personally know Ken Bennett, I went to the gubernatorial debate.

The conference then proceeded into the grand ballroom for the Second Amendment Luncheon. My Congressional Representative, Trent Franks, came to the podium and spoke about the erosion of the 2nd amendment.  The issue of gun rights is one that I am very passionate about because without a means to defend ourselves, tyranny will destroy free speech and all those other rights that we hold dear.

After all the breakout panels were done, there was a VIP meet and greet with Sheriff Arpaio. When I walked in, I saw three tables of cheese, veggies, and crackers.  A bartender supplied the adults drinks while I snaked my way through the crowd toward the line for pictures with Sheriff Joe. Some of the notable dignitaries included Attorney General Tom Horne, actor Steven Seagal, and blogger and speaker Trevor Loudon.  In the midst of all this, I suddenly found myself with Steven Seagal and Sheriff Arpaio backstage for some reason.  So when I found out that I wasn't needed anymore, I decided that rather go out of the ballroom and wait in line to get back in, I would talk to the two Sheriff's Posse members in the room. The two posse men whom I spoke with were Andrew Chymych,  the Deputy Commander for the Community Services Posse, and Lieutenant Rayl Evans from the Enforcement Support Posse.  After a pleasant conversation with them, the dinner began.  As we sat down to eat I introduced myself to my dinning companions.  We then had a conversation on various topics until while we waited for our diner.  I choose to eat steak and potatoes and my mother dined on chicken.  Once again, I found myself silently thanking my mother and grandmother for teaching me dinner table etiquette.

After the dinner, the main event began: the roast of Sheriff Joe Arpaio.  The roasters of Sheriff Joe introduced themselves and the roast began.  The handpicked panel of dignitaries grilled the Sheriff for the rest of the evening.  Each person went through jokes and kind hearted ribbing.  After the roast concluded, I gave a few parting words to the Sheriff and thanked the coordinator former Arizona State Senator Lori Klein  for arranging my participation in the event.  The conference was a great experience that I strongly recommend to anyone remotely interested in politics.

Trevor Loudon

He was a self proclaimed "Young Socialist" in his younger years.   "I believed all the garbage that they told us in school, that socialism is great, that the welfare state was great. It was only really in my late teens that I had an economics teacher who taught me about the free market that I started turning around," he explains.  Now he is leading the charge against communism, Marxism, and socialism from his native New Zealand.  He is Trevor Loudon, a controversial author, blogger, and political speaker.
I interviewed him at the 2014 Western Conservative Conference.


At the moment, he is on the road six months a year.  He is interviewed on the radio usually one to two times a day and is speaking at events at lunchtime and in the evening nearly every day.  "Anybody who tells you that touring is easy doesn't really know what they are talking about," Mr. Loudon declares.

He is often compared to Senator Joseph McCarthy by his critics.  It is a label that he proudly wears.  "The Left (political left) always demonizes their enemies.  They demonized Reagan; they portrayed him as a bumbling, old fool.  They demonized McCarthy because they understood what a threat he was...and if anyone compares me to him, I take that as a great compliment," Mr. Loudon asserts.  When he was in Wisconsin last year, he traveled to Appleton and was photographed at Senator McCarthy's grave.

Before coming to prominence as a blogger, author, and speaker, he ran bakeries for 15 years.  He stated that he has always been interested in politics.  At one point, he was the Vice-President of ACT (the Association of Consumers and Taxpayers).  According to Mr. Loudon, the ACT is the most classical liberal/libertarian-conservative, most free enterprise, most small government political party in New Zealand, if not in the entire southern hemisphere.

His career, as he describes it, is as a citizen journalist, and his mission is to educate Americans of the dangers that we are facing.  He also acts as a motivational speaker for various Tea Party groups throughout the United States.  "I am a professional revolutionary so to speak," he says.

Mr. Loudon owns his own website, the "New Zeal".  "I started it in 2005 in November just as a blog on New Zealand issues.  Since I had a background in researching the communist movement since the 1980s,  I focused a lot on exposing the communist infiltration of our labor party, our green party, and the social movements, the peace movement, the radical Islamic movement in my country, etcetera," Mr. Loudon explains. "It was really only in 2007 when I was researching the Democratic party in the U.S. that I stumbled on the link between Frank Marshall Davis, the Hawaiian communist, and a young Barack Obama.  So I researched Obama for a year. I knew he was heading for big things.

In 2008 I started to publish my findings in a series of 'Obama Files' on my blogs.  They got picked up by people like Glenn Beck and others and I got quite well known. I got quite a following in the States.  Then I exposed Van Jones, the communist green jobs czar, in the White House," he adds.  "Glenn Beck used that information to basically get him kicked out  of the White House.  So that made my name further.  Then in 2011, I released my first book, Barack Obama and the Enemies Within.  It went from being a little blog on New Zealand issues to bridging into the Obama issue, then American communism, the Socialist take over of America.  That lead to speaking tours and everything really."

I had a wonderful time talking to Mr. Loudon at the Western Conservative Conference.

 His life story is comparable to that of George Orwell.  Starting out as a communist, then later in life writing about the dangers of communism and fighting communism in his country.

Evolution of American political parties

Founding of our country:

In 1787 there were no political parties.  Delegates from the 13 independent states gathered to ratify the Constitution.  During that time the "parties" were delegates who generally agreed with one another.  Then we see the rise of the Federalists, who drafted and supported the adoption of the Constitution, and the Anti-Federalists, who were more supportive of the Articles of Confederation and did not advocate for the Constitution as it was written because they believed the Constitution gave the federal government too much power.  But after the ratification, all those who wished to hold public office had to swear to uphold and protect the Constitution, which effectively killed the Anti-Federalists. 

First party system, 1792-1824

Many former Anti-Federalists joined the Anti-Administration Party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in 1790.  The Anti-Administration Party opposed the polices of then Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton.  For example, Hamilton argued for the creation of the Bank of the United States (BUS) and supported the notion that a sustained debt would be beneficial to the economy.  When the French Revolution broke out, Hamilton supported the British, much to Jefferson's vexation . The Anti-Administration Party ended in 1792 and became the Democratic-Republican Party.

Second party system, 1828-1854

The second party system was a period of rising voter interest.  Because of internal fighting within the Democratic-Republican party, they split into the Jacksonian Democrats and the Whigs in 1829.  The modern Democratic party came from the Jacksonian Democrats led by Andrew Jackson.  Because of the deaths of many of the senior leadership in the Whig party, they collapsed in 1850.  Minor parties included the Anti-Masonic Party, which was an important innovator from 1827 to 1834; the abolitionist Liberty Party in 1840; and the anti-slavery Free Soil Party in 1848 and 1852.

Third party system, 1855-1890

Those who still clung to the ideology of the Whigs created the Jeffersonian Republican Party (A.K.A. the Grand Old Party).  Meanwhile, the Jacksonian Democrats re-branded themselves as the Bourbon Democrats. The term was occasionally used in the 1860s and 1870s to refer to conservative Democrats ,from both North and South, who still held the ideas of Jefferson and Jackson, and in the 1870s to refer to the regimes set up in the South by Redeemers as a conservative reaction against Reconstruction.  The Bourbon Democrats experienced a scandal when President Andrew Johnson was impeached or violating the Tenure Act.  They recovered when President Johnson was acquitted.  They then started a barrage of anti-corruption laws, which helped them win the presidential election in 1884.

Fourth party system,1896-1932
The fourth party system is often called the "Progressive Era'' by American history books, was dominated by the Republican Party (GOP).  It was called the Progressive Era because of the vast amounts of social progress in the nation and the purification of government.  During the Fourth party system, most of the issues and personalities of the Third party system were swept away, though the voting blocs continued virtually unchanged.  Because of the length of time the GOP held office and the Great Depression, people grew tired of their polices, thus paving the way for the Progressives (the Democrats called themselves Progressives to piggyback off the success of the Progressive Era reforms) to assume power.  According to historian William Leuchtenburg:

The Progressives believed in the Hamiltonian concept of positive government, of a national government directing the destinies of the nation at home and abroad. They had little but contempt for the strict construction of the Constitution by conservative judges, who would restrict the power of the national government to act against social evils and to extend the blessings of democracy to less favored lands. The real enemy was particularism, state rights, limited government.

While the major players were still the GOP and Democrats, there were a host of minor parties including the ill-fated "Bull Moose" Progressive Party, the Prohibition Party, the Communist Party USA, and the Socialist Workers Party.

Fifth party system, 1933-Present day
The Fifth party system was ushered in with the formation of the New Deal Coalition, which is a supporter of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's "New Deal" domestic programs and has been expanded on by Lyndon B. Johnson and his Great Society program.  His vision led to Medicare, which was established on July 30, 1965.  The Fifth party system has been primarily dominated by the Democratic Party.  The GOP responded with the Reagan Coalition, which gained considerable support.  The Democrats suffered once more when President William "Bill" Clinton was impeached for perjury following the scandal with Paula Jones.  The two parties have traded the Senate back and forth with small majorities since 1980 until the Democrats held a super majority in 2009.  In the midterm election of 2010, the Republicans won a 63 seat majority, the largest seat change since 1948.  History was made on November 4th 2008, when Barrack Obama was elected as the first African American President.  A member of the Democratic Party, President Obama has raised the debt level to an astounding $17,000,000,000,000 of debt.  With more scandals then any other president, it is a wonder that he has not been impeached yet.   

The Fifth party system has had the most minor parties out of all the others.  We have the: 

• America First Party
• Libertarian Party
• Pirate Party 
• Reform Party of the United States of America
• Socialist Action Party
•  Socialist Alternative Party
•  United States Marijuana Party
•  Socialist Party USA,
•  Socialist Workers Party
•  United States Pacifist Party
• Unity Party of America
• Workers World Party
• Peace and Freedom Party
• Party for Socialism and Liberation
• Objectivist Party
• National Socialist Movement
• Modern Whig Party
• Justice Party
• Independent American Party
• Freedom Socialist Party
• Citizens Party of the United States
• Christian Liberty Party
• America's Party
• Americans Elect
• American Freedom Party
• American Conservative Party

While there are many parties, only the Republican, Libertarian, and Democratic Parties have a presence in Congress and the White House.  Recently in Philadelphia,  Robert ''Heshy'' Buckolz, a member of the Modern Whig Party, was elected as a judge of elections.  That is believed to mark the first time since the 19th century that a Whig has held elected office.

Secretary of State, Arizona

"It is very important that our young people understand how government works," the Honorable Ken Bennett, current Secretary of State of Arizona, stated emphatically during our interview.

My mission with this blog is to do precisely that: help us all understand how our government works, beginning with the position of Secretary of State in Arizona.  There are four main responsibilities of the Secretary of State: elections, business services, record keeping, and serving as Lieutenant Governor.

Elections:  The office of the Secretary of State works closely with each county to ensure that proper protocols are being followed.  The counties are the ones that actually conduct the elections.

Business Services:  The Business Services Division assists start up business,  registers partnerships, and issues trademarks and trade names.  Also, all notes from notaries in Arizona pertaining to business are filed at the Secretary of State's office.

Record Keeping:  "Whenever the the state government does something officially," Secretary Bennett said, "that usually gets filed at the Secretary of State's office."

Lieutenant Governor:  Arizona is one of only three states that does not have a Lieutenant Governor position.  The second-in-command position in our state government is the Secretary of State.  The Secretary of State assumes the position of Governor when the Governor is unable to discharge his or her duties or is out of state.