Thoughts on the Green Beret Second Amendment letter

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Thoughts on the Green Beret Second Amendment letter

Written By: Bob - Jan• 30•13

Soldiers train for a year to earn the Green Beret. (Photo courtesy of US Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School Public Affairs Office)

Late yesterday I became aware of a statement either extraordinary or obvious, depending upon your point of view.
More than 1,000 active duty and retired Green Berets had signed a letter in support of the Second Amendment.
The letter itself is measured, matter-of-fact, and echoes many of the themes we’ve covered here before.
They find the lies of “assault weapons” to be disingenuous. They find the threat of banning standard capacity magazines to be a maneuver towards banning entire classes of firearms. They note that the very firearms Congress and the President are trying to outlaw are those that are most protected under the Founder’s original intent as affirmed in Miller, Printz, and Heller by the U.S. Supreme Court. They point out that the 1994 ban had no effect on crime. The bring up the McMinn County War as a example of how citizens have had to go to war against corrupt Democrats as recently as 1946 to depose tyrants. They point out that gun control always precedes tyranny.
They pull no punches, and make a very eloquent, rational defense of the Second Amendment and the Constitution in general, and suggest an eight-step course of action.

1. First and foremost we support our Second Amendment right in that “A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed”.
2. We support State and Local School Boards in their efforts to establish security protocols in whatever manner and form that they deem necessary and adequate. One of the great strengths of our Republic is that State and Local governments can be creative in solving problems. Things that work can be shared. Our point is that no one knows what will work and there is no one single solution, so let’s allow the State and Local governments with the input of the citizens to make the decisions. Most recently the Cleburne Independent School District will become the first district in North Texas to consider allowing some teachers to carry concealed guns. We do not opine as to the appropriateness of this decision, but we do support their right to make this decision for themselves.
3. We recommend that Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) laws be passed in every State. AOT is formerly known as Involuntary Outpatient Commitment (IOC) and allows the courts to order certain individuals with mental disorders to comply with treatment while living in the community. In each of the mass shooting incidents the perpetrator was mentally unstable. We also believe that people who have been adjudicated as incompetent should be simultaneously examined to determine whether they should be allowed the right to retain/purchase firearms.
4. We support the return of firearm safety programs to schools along the lines of the successful “Eddie the Eagle” program, which can be taught in schools by Peace Officers or other trained professionals.
5. Recent social psychology research clearly indicates that there is a direct relationship between gratuitously violent movies/video games and desensitization to real violence and increased aggressive behavior particularly in children and young adults (See Nicholas L. Carnagey, et al. 2007. “The effect of video game violence on physiological desensitization to real-life violence” and the references therein. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 43:489-496). Therefore, we strongly recommend that gratuitous violence in movies and video games be discouraged. War and war-like behavior should not be glorified. Hollywood and video game producers are exploiting something they know nothing about. General Sherman famously said “War is Hell!” Leave war to the Professionals. War is not a game and should not be “sold” as entertainment to our children.
6. We support repeal of the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990. This may sound counter-intuitive, but it obviously isn’t working. It is our opinion that “Gun-Free Zones” anywhere are too tempting of an environment for the mentally disturbed individual to inflict their brand of horror with little fear of interference. While governmental and non-governmental organizations, businesses, and individuals should be free to implement a Gun-Free Zone if they so choose, they should also assume Tort liability for that decision.
7. We believe that border states should take responsibility for implementation of border control laws to prevent illegal shipments of firearms and drugs. Drugs have been illegal in this country for a long, long time yet the Federal Government manages to seize only an estimated 10% of this contraband at our borders. Given this dismal performance record that is misguided and inept (“Fast and Furious”), we believe that border States will be far more competent at this mission.
8. This is our country, these are our rights. We believe that it is time that we take personal responsibility for our choices and actions rather than abdicate that responsibility to someone else under the illusion that we have done something that will make us all safer. We have a responsibility to stand by our principles and act in accordance with them. Our children are watching and they will follow the example we set.
The undersigned Quiet Professionals hereby humbly stand ever present, ever ready, and ever vigilant.

Some may be tempted to read number eight and their closing as a polite warning to Washington. As the Green Beret motto is De Oppresso Liber (To Free the Oppressed), I’d suggest that out lawmakers take that warning very seriously as they consider their actions.
That these Special Forces soldiers feel this way will come as a shock to no one who has ever served in combat arms, or knows someone who has. We all know veterans and active duty members of every branch of the armed forces who remember that their allegiance is to the Constitution, not any particular government.
Tread carefully, Washington.