Firearms and freedom will protect homeland

“Congress, the federal courts and the White House are doing nothing to forbid
federal,
state and local authorities from arresting and jailing Americans whose only
“crime” is
attempting to exercise their God-given right to protect themselves in the face
of an
obvious enemy. [Consider the Lautenberg-Kohl gun ban amendments, Brady Law,
"Assault
Weapons" ban, nics, nfa '34, gca '68, more.]

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=28935

Friday, September 13, 2002
Jon E. Dougherty Firearms and freedom will protect homeland
Posted: September 13, 2002
1:00 a.m. Eastern

By Jon Dougherty
? 2002 WorldNetDaily.com

As if liberty-minded Americans needed more of an impetus to oppose restrictive
and
unconstitutional gun laws, WorldNetDaily editor-in-chief Joseph Farah’s
shocking story
last week regarding the contents of an al-Qaida training tape provided the coup
de grace
in terms of motivation. Trouble is, I doubt many in Congress or the White House
are paying
attention.

The tape, which was captured in Afghanistan, “shows Osama bin Laden’s
terrorists are not
only planning attacks with weapons of mass destruction, but are preparing to
kill
Americans with drive-by shootings and home break-ins, through ambushes of
law-enforcement
officers and targeted assassinations on golf courses,” WND reported.

Pretty daunting stuff, no question about it. Most Americans, unlike the
majority of
Israelis, have no idea the kind of horror and chaos that would be created in
this country
were such attacks to begin in earnest. Yet, that seems to be exactly what our
terrorist
enemies have in mind. The tape should serve as a warning, but will it?

Despite 9-11 ? which took place on our own soil ? Americans are still
unprepared to
protect themselves against such direct threats. But in our defense, most of the
reason for
that is because of the absurd and unconstitutional authoritarianism of the
federal
government. National leaders have done everything they could to disarm our
nation and,
when that failed, to wean our survival instinct out of us.

Through arrogance, it’s possible our leaders think this training tape isn’t
legitimate.
Maybe they didn’t pay attention to the warning bells it should have sounded
because its
contents were reported by “one of those Internet newssites” ? despite WND’s
excellent
record of breaking such stories accurately.

I would also remind our leaders that last month CNN managed to buy an entire
64-tape
series in Afghanistan that showed al-Qaida operatives training recruits for a
number of
similar tasks, including ambushes, bomb-making and related terrorist activity.
Those tapes
even showed operatives experimenting with poison gas, using barnyard animals
and dogs.
Nevertheless, many of those tapes reportedly did not concern some terrorist
experts as
much as what was portrayed on the single tape detailed by this “Internet
newssite.”

So when, exactly, does our leadership figure out that maybe ? just maybe ?
Americans face
a larger threat from bin Laden’s minions than they are willing to admit? When,
exactly,
will Americans seeking real protection get more than sermonizing platitudes
from
congressional windbags and White House lackeys ? all of whom have their own
armed security?

When such force is being arrayed against you, it makes no sense to ignore it,
hide from it
or refuse to meet it with overwhelming counterforce. The evidence on this tape
is proof
positive that bin Laden’s minions have Americans in their crosshairs.

Yet as long as Congress, federal courts and the Bush administration allow
federal, state
and local governments to defy the Second Amendment and restrict ? or worse, ban
? the
right of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms, the number of victims in
our country
will continue to grow.

If civilians are being targeted by terrorist operatives, isn’t it criminal ? in
a
supposedly “free society” ? to arrest and prosecute people who would simply
find the means
to defend themselves? Yet that’s what will happen if Jack and Jane Smith shove
a clip into
the family AR-15 and tote it with them when they and the kids go shopping in
just about
any city in America.

Despite this threat, Congress, the federal courts and the White House are doing
nothing to
forbid federal, state and local authorities from arresting and jailing
Americans whose
only “crime” is attempting to exercise their God-given right to protect
themselves in the
face of an obvious enemy.

Our government has yet to realize that the ever-present threat of terrorism
overrides
dangerous gun-control claptrap. How many more deaths will it take before they
understand
that regardless of how large the state’s security apparatus, law enforcement
and military
personnel cannot be everywhere to protect everyone all the time?

More importantly, when will ordinary Americans with a desire to live and the
fortitude to
protect their own families and property realize their worst enemies may be in
Washington,
D.C., preparing to arrest those who dare raise a gun in their own defense?

Jon E. Dougherty is a staff reporter and columnist for WorldNetDaily,