Idle Threats

From My Cold Dead Hands!

We've all heard the slogan about taking our guns from our cold, dead hands. But is it really that way? How many gun owners would really resist? How many would defy the government? It's one of those questions that cannot be answered directly without experience. But is it true that we don't have any experience by which to judge?

Perhaps not.

In a recent Page Nine email from Alan Korwin, the founder of Gunlaws.com, one of his contributors named "Counterintuitive Man" recently opined the following;

During Katrina, when obedient slavish Americans meekly turned over their guns, handle -- not bullets -- first, to cooperative authorities, the gun show buyers were preparing by stockpiling. The assumption was that authorities were preparing to take the guns from their warm live fingers with either a smile (we're from the government and we're here to save you) or with a tough gritty face, at gunpoint. Not one gun owner fired one shot during the Katrina confiscations, to avoid "news" broadcasts that would have said, "Crazed maniac shoots at peaceful peace officers maintaining neighborhood safety after disaster, and is shot dead in a hail of police gunfire along with his entire family and dog; neighbors thank police for their brave efforts and propose statues; dead gunman may have had mental problems, motive is still unknown, police found 300 rounds of live assault ammunition in his flooded compound bunker; more news at six."

The revolution will not be televised. It will not be brought to you in three parts by any sponsor, and it will not feature guns taken from cold dead fingers.

He does have a point. And a good one.

Aside from all the slogans, rhetoric and chest-thumping, American gun owners remain law-abiding, even in the face of what many of us see as unlawful acts by the government. Internet armchair warriors brag about giving up their guns bullets first, but when police show up, much of that spirit melts away into compliance.

The question is why?

Because American gun owners have faith in their system of government. There is a large percentage of the gun owning public that believes the system will correct the wrongs committed by the government. They would rather fight using the legal system than "turn outlaw" by shooting at police. This speaks well of the average American gun owner - that he would rather argue the legalities before a court than begin taking lives or injuring people.

In a positive light, when the anti-gun lobby makes statements that gun owners can "just flip out" or "just start shooting" over trivial matters, we can point to the lack of resistance after Katrina to show that gun owners are primarily law-abiding. If there was any time where resistance could be excuseable, it would have been at that time, when police were not available to respond to calls.

Before making the brave statement "from my cold, dead hands", think about what such an act will do to your life. The media certainly isn't going to paint you as a patriot standing against the illegal use of power. Nor are gun owners across the country going to hear how you're standing off police because they want to violate the constitution, and then rush to your aid. Not unless people can get the word out quickly and with credibility. Otherwise, the last three words in your epitath could be "film at eleven".