Here is an op/ed piece from an ex-law enforcement officer named Sergei Hoff
writing in an online newspaper called EtherZone (find the article at:
http://etherzone.com/hoff053100.html ).

Hoff’s essay outlines the several fundamental reasons why “gun control” is
1. wrong
2. wrong-headed
3. the reason my Dad fought at the Battle of the Bulge.

Huh? Yeah, well, the Nazi’s didn’t try to invade Switzerland for several reasons,
one of the major ones being that every Swiss male had (and has) an assault
rifle in his closet at home. If the Polish and the French had had the same policy in
1936, well, possibly there would have been no WWII and certainly no Battle of
the Bulge. (By the way: Dad survived. Many of his friends didn’t.)

This article is long but it is very much worth reading. — Bill Rogers

TREASONOUS AND UNCONSTITUTIONAL :
REACHING THE POINT OF NO RETURN

By: Sergei Hoff

Treasonous and unconstitutional legislation by our elected officials has
placed millions of men, women and children in jeopardy!

Questions regarding the right of self-defense were resolved at the time the
Second Amendment, principal defender of our Bill of Rights, was ratified on
December 15th, 1791. Accordingly, law and commonsense should render further
discussion respecting the absolutes of self-defense as unwarranted. However,
as this fundamental right is now under a vicious attack by Socialist
activism, a plan of rational reaction is in order.

To the men and women who are outraged by the incremental theft of their
cherished liberties, this essay will be of interest. Some who are
well-meaning yet clearly misinformed might also profit by proceeding.
For the others who are indifferent, faint of heart or content with the social
engineering of their lives by an oppressive nanny-state, they will not benefit
by reading further.

Because of an inability to direct and accept responsibility for their own
lives, these individuals have by now blended into the flock heading towards
the precipice. Until the grazing meadows of sweet-grass are taken from them,
they will not stray.

The Constitution was conceived for the enumeration of legitimate authority
and limitations of federal government, states and the people. Justly
restrained, government has no constitutional authority, in any degree or
manner, to infringe upon our inalienable, Second Amendment rights of
self-protection.

Whether or not the majority of citizens believe in the right of the people
(individuals) to keep and bear arms is irrelevant to the application of
constitutional law. Intentionally disregarding degrees of social and
political popularity, the Constitution equally protects the rights of every
individual. Like it or not, this is a nation of laws and not men. We do not
consider the political correctness of “Socialism” (endorsed by liberal
Democrats and many so-called moderate Republicans) or polls of public opinion
in order to determine which inalienable, constitutional rights government
shall permit the people to exercise. We are dependent upon “Constitutional
Law” for such judgments. Not any individual or faction has ever been blessed
with the luxury of picking and choosing which “Article or Amendment” is more
convenient and adaptable to their self-serving needs. The Constitution must
be accepted logically, with honesty and in its entirety.

Federal court decision: “A state cannot impose a license, tax or fee on a
constitutionally protected right. Murdock vs. Pennsylvania 319 US 105
(1942).” For those who rely on law and commonsense, the possession of
firearms is clearly “a constitutionally protected right”. Regardless of this
truth, most states require a citizen to pay a “fee” (registration or
background check “fee”) in order to obtain a “license” (concealed carry
“license”) before keeping and/or bearing a firearm. And, a federal and/or
state “tax” (firearms and ammunitions sales “tax” or machine gun “tax”
collected by the BATF) is always levied at the time of firearm transaction.

NOTE: “Webster’s University Dictionary – Infringed: 1. To violate or go
beyond the limits of (e.g., a law). 2. To break (a law or agreement); fail to
observe the terms of: violate. 3. To defeat: invalidate. – To encroach upon
something. Infringement: 1. A violation, as of a law or agreement. 2. An
encroachment, as of a privilege or right”. Old Noah Webster must have
experienced a prophetic dream prior to publishing these definitions.

Unrelentingly, armed lawful men and women are harassed beyond reason and
commonsense with infringing, illogical and asinine gun control laws
(forbidding self-defense). In their incremental efforts to abolish all guns,
our corrupted government and dishonorable politicians are doing precisely
what the Constitution forbids. If the 20,000 (plus) federal and state gun
laws (fact) do not flawlessly illustrate Webster’s definition of infringed,
then no other repressive or invading action will. Within the world of
authenticity, our gun laws remain as insidious acts of infringement and
severe violations of constitutional law. These unconstitutional legislative
and judicial illegalities represent direct and treasonous assaults upon the
men, women and children of this nation and our sovereign “Constitutional
Republic”.

The Second Amendment has been assailed on countless occasions. Mesmerized by
visions of United Nations utopianism (world government), our sovereign
government refuses obedience to constitutional law. Contemptuously,
legislators defile constitutional principles with blatant violations of the
most fundamental commandment, “the right of the people (people = persons =
individuals, never defined as a state) to keep and bear arms shall not be
infringed”.

Contrary to “Socialist” propaganda, our Founding Fathers did not place
limitations on the possession of arms – “(after receiving a concealed weapons
permit) the right (limited by 20,000 state and federal gun laws) of the
people to keep (inside their perilously unhandy gun safes) and bear arms (of
specific description and registered with the Department of Justice and
equipped with trigger safety locks, rendering the weapon useless for
self-protection) shall not be infringed (unless feel-good solutions, opinion
polls and Congress deem additional oppressive and unrealistic restrictions
appropriate to their self-serving political needs)”.

As a former law enforcement officer of many years, I can state with
credibility that guns save innocent lives far more often than they kill. Law
enforcement documentation also indicates that there are over two million
lives saved by guns each year (facts, never disclosed in the local or
national media). In opposition to this truth, I have heard many anti
self-defense advocates say that they only want “reasonable restrictions” on
gun ownership. That is of course, “for the sake of our children”. My question
is, does the number of 20,000 standing gun control laws appear to be
“reasonable restrictions” to anyone other than a deceitful politician or an
imbecile?

Each day, they rape the Constitution and molest our inalienable rights. Our
disingenuous Legislators and Supreme Court Justices belittle and dishonor the
memory, intent and integrity of our Founding Fathers. These self perceived
ethical scholars of law have bastardized the Constitution with their
convoluted and ambiguous interpretations of our unequivocal “Bill of Rights”.
Virtue by virtue, liberty by liberty, our Constitutional Republic is being
systematically eroded away. It is they who are the most corrupting of outlaws!

The germane question is, would the peoples of China, Cuba, Nazi Germany
(Holocaust survivors know the answer), Soviet Russia, Kosovo, Chechnya and so
on, have become victims of rape, torture and genocide, had the citizenry been
well prepared with handguns and assault weapons (the real thing, fully
automatic) for self-defense? With adequate weaponry at hand, along with an
appropriately defensive attitude, the numbers of casualties certainly would
not have counted into the millions.

Unarmed, we are all vulnerable to tyranny. In truth, it is occurring to this
day. Irrespective of ongoing government attempts at deception (BATF and FBI),
the federally sanctioned mass murder of over eighty men, women and children
(shot or burned to death) at Waco and a young innocent boy (shot in the back)
along with his infant bearing mother (shot in the face) at Ruby Ridge, should
serve as profound examples demanding a well-armed citizenry.

As a consequence of militarism (utilizing such equipment as machine guns
and tanks, designed for global warfare, not assaults on U.S. civilians), now
being discovered within the ranks of our federal, state and local police forces,
freedom inspired armed citizens must hold these audacious agencies in check.

Street-wise criminals and the insane are not the only threatening elements
within our society requiring constant vigilance and preparedness. Dismissing
firm and decisive actions to rectify government atrocities assures us of
further tyranny.

Demand from your legislators that they cease their unconstitutional assaults
on the American people. If your elected officials refused to obey and defend
the Constitution of the United States then vote the traitors out of office,
for they are nothing less. Elected and appointed officials who with intent,
actively attempt to subvert the Constitution of the United States, must be
impeached, prosecuted, convicted and imprisoned for acts of high treason
against the people of this nation. Contemplation of leniency for crimes of
such far-reaching and destructive consequences is unconscionable.

Self explanatory: In 1856, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that local law
enforcement had no duty to protect individuals but only a general duty to
enforce the laws. South vs. Maryland, 59 US (HOW) 396, 15 L. Ed. 433 (1856).
A U. S. Federal Appeals Court declared in 1982, “There is no constitutional
right to be protected by the state against being murdered by criminals or
madmen.” Bowers vs. devot, U. S. Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit 686 F. 2d 616
(1982).

Make no mistake! Anyone, regardless of ignorance or intent, who deprives you
of the means or ability to defend the lives of yourself and family is your
enemy and must be consciously and continuously perceived as such. All anti
self-defense activists are as deadly a threat to you and your family as any
uncontrolled violent criminal or psychopath. Their actions contributing to
the same result, government along with many politicians (Clinton, Gore,
Schumer, Feinstein, Laudenberg, Kennedy, Daschel, on and on) and street-wise
criminals must all be held accountable for the thousands of men, women and
children whose lives are lost to felonious assaults each year.

Because of their ceaseless and malicious distortion of gun related facts,
many members of the liberal news media are morally responsible for these
horrific losses. Knowing full well that women are far more vulnerable than
men to violent assault, the feminist movement (NOW) is quite negligent by
refusing to encourage the arming of their supporters for self-defense. If
they were sincere in their concern for the welfare of women they would
certainly do so. If recorded on paper, acts of hypocrisy by the ACLU would
fill volumes.

How many elected officials venture outdoors without the security of an armed
bodyguard standing at their side? Are any of their lives more valuable than
your own? Can you afford to retain the same quality of protection for
yourself and family? Dialing 911 will not assure your safety. Although in
most cases they are willing to assist, police usually provide an
after-the-incident response. After the damage is done, they will always be
there to investigate your homicide or rape.

Bureaucrats defiantly and unconstitutionally refuse to permit all lawful
citizens from exercising the “First Law of Nature” (self-defense). Covertly,
government is aiding and abetting the most sadistic malcontents of humanity,
the psychopaths and violent criminals within this nation. Indeed, along with
President Clinton and his appointed scoundrels, the blood is also on the
hands of many other elected officials. Not only have they violated their
oaths of office but actively subvert the Constitution of the United States.

Our Founding Fathers did not endure the abuses of a tyrannical government
(England) and learn nothing. Their goal was not to create a document of
government sanctioned privileges, to be allotted out by contemporary
miscreants in office. Ingeniously, they instead provided us with the “Bill of
Rights” which is intended to limit government. Not the people! They protect
our Creator bestowed rights and further affirm the “First Law of Nature”.
Without question, our elected officials have illegally far exceeded the
authority of their office.

The establishment of our Constitution demanded a display of courage and
independence by a well armed citizenry. Its continued integrity will
necessitate the same. Look around you. Be observant! Question all actions of
government and propaganda by the bias news media (dependent on distortions
and sensationalism for high ratings rather than facts). Our freedoms remain
in peril to this day. It will require more than indifference, complacency or
fear to sustain your liberties.

As for myself, I am an ordinary, lawful American citizen who has witnessed
for the past thirty years, the systematic, ruthless and devastating erosion
of our liberties by a government behaving in an unconstitutional and corrupt
manner. The bottom line is that I shall not tolerate further infringements on
my inalienable rights. Coexisting in harmony with liberty, my Second
Amendment rights are not to be compromised.

Regarding independence of thought and action, I have never pledged fidelity
to any militant cause, religious doctrine or political party. I will however,
defend with dedication and ferocity, the principles and intent behind the
United States Constitution. I am a former Deputy Sheriff and have
participated in hundreds of criminal investigations including armed
robbery, felonious assault, homicide, rape and child abuse. Having tired
of the despair related to this profession, with pleasure, I now indulge in the
sculpting of wildlife, nudes and portraiture.

My final question is, when will “WE THE PEOPLE” of this nation awaken to
reality and reclaim our constitutional authority? Without detour, we are
rapidly approaching the point of no return.

Do give it some thought!

“They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety
deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

—Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759.