Time: Thu Jul 03 18:38:13 1997 by primenet.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id SAA01246; Thu, 3 Jul 1997 18:30:37 -0700 (MST) by usr07.primenet.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with SMTP id SAA26389; Thu, 3 Jul 1997 18:30:27 -0700 (MST) Date: Thu, 03 Jul 1997 18:28:43 -0700 To: (Recipient list suppressed) From: Paul Andrew Mitchell [address in tool bar] Subject: SLS: The real reason behing gun control and the attack on the Branch Davidians (fwd) <snip> > >>Alternative Politics, SA News, Jan 27 - Feb 10, 1994 >> >>Next Wave >>by Benedict D. LaRosa >> >>The Real Reason Behind Gun Control >> >>With public attention riveted on the murder/conspiracy trial of the >>Branch Davidians, little attention has been paid to the Treasury >>Department's investigation of the conduct of the Bureau of Alcohol, >>Tobacco, and Firearms (BATF). Most of the media quickly saw through the >>veneer of objectivity and rightly ignored the report released last >>September. However, as with most government documents, there is some >>truth hidden among the chaff. Appendix G of the report is a brief >>history of federal firearms enforcement. It is startling in its candor >>in revealing the real reason behind the gun control movement in this >>country. >> >>Gun control is being sold to the American people as a crime fighting >>measure. (There are also attempts to make it an environmental and health >>issue.) Sarah Brady has publicly admitted that the Brady Bill -- signed >>into law last November 30 -- will have little effect on crime. But, she >>added, it was a necessary first step. President Clinton warned, "This is >>the first step. There is more to be done. We cannot stop here." To what >>are Sarah Brady and President Clinton referring? Appendix G provides the >>answer. >> >>The report admits that the BATF raided the Branch Davidian community at >>Mt. Carmel to enforce contemporary gun control laws. It adds: >> >>"In a larger sense, however, the raid fit [sic] within an historic, >>well-established and well-defended government interest in prohibiting >>and breaking up all organized groups that sought to arm or fortify >>themselves.... From its earliest formation, the federal government has >>actively suppressed any effort by disgruntled or rebellious citizens to >>coalesce into an armed group, however small the group, petty its >>complaint, or grandiose its ambition." >> >>Appendix G relates how the experience of Shay's Rebellion (1786-87), the >>Whiskey Rebellion (1794), Fries Rebellion (1799), the fugitive slave >>rescues of the 1850s, John Brown's raid on the Harper's Ferry federal >>arsenal (1859), the Civil War, Southern resistance to Reconstruction, >>the Pullman Strike (1894), etc., created an intolerance to organized, >>armed groups on the part of the federal government. This paranoia led >>Congress to pass the National Firearms Act of 1934, not "to curb the >>gangsters' ability to arm themselves" with automatic weapons and >>sawed-off shotguns as advertised, but "to discourage ownership of such >>weapons without outlawing them." It admits that "No self-respecting >>gangster would want to register, much less pay the tax, on his >>Tommygun." It goes on to say: >> >>"The passage of the National Firearms Act of 1934, the first federal >>effort to control ownership of firearms, grew out of this historic fear >>of armed organizations.... In recent times, the federal government has >>shown itself even less patient with armed groups.... As both history and >>recent events clearly show, the United States has never tolerated armed >>groups residing within its borders. The intent of the particular >>organization, whether ideological or criminal, mattered little.... ATF's >>enforcement focus retains the flavor of that historic concern with armed >>organizations." >> >>The Branch Davidians were not criminals and cults are not illegal. It >>was not criminal activity that brought the Branch Davidians to the >>attention of the federal government, but the fact that they were an >>organized, armed group dissatisfied with the status quo. Government >>agents created the impression of illegality to justify their suppression >>of the Davidians and to dissuade similar dissenters. This is why >>Attorney General Janet Reno warned that "more Waco-like standoffs will >>occur in the near future. I hope an example has been set ... to >>discourage those who are tempted to join cults." The Brady Bill and the >>even more draconian gun control measures in the upcoming crime bill are >>but the latest steps dating back to colonial times to disarm the >>American people, not criminals, in defiance of the Second Amendment. > <snip> ======================================================================== Paul Andrew Mitchell : Counselor at Law, federal witness B.A., Political Science, UCLA; M.S., Public Administration, U.C. Irvine tel: (520) 320-1514: machine; fax: (520) 320-1256: 24-hour/day-night email: [address in tool bar] : using Eudora Pro 3.0.2 on 586 CPU website: http://www.supremelaw.com : visit the Supreme Law Library now ship to: c/o 2509 N. Campbell, #1776 : this is free speech, at its best Tucson, Arizona state : state zone, not the federal zone Postal Zone 85719/tdc : USPS delays first class w/o this As agents of the Most High, we came here to establish justice. We shall not leave, until our mission is accomplished and justice reigns eternal. ======================================================================== [This text formatted on-screen in Courier 11, non-proportional spacing.]
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