The Current State of Virginia

I have only been following from afar the news in Virginia about the proposed gun laws and Second Amendment sanctuary cities. Personally, I do not know much about Virginia or its current or past political dealings. From what I understand is that it is primarily Democrat run and now there are a few proposed legislation gearing up for 2020 that would severely damage gun rights. When I say damage gun rights, we are talking about possible waves of confiscation and registration for what are perfectly common use firearms. There have also been threats of the National Guard being called in, sheriffs being removed, and the obvious talk of the Big Igloo aka boogaloo aka a real recreation of events of 1776.

From my understanding, the Democrats want to not only restrict the guns, but also parts, and even militia groups. This is astounding to me, we are a country that was formed and fought for by militia, I should clarify the term militia even back then was used to refer to a civilian formed military group. If you aren't aware, there are still many active militias across the US, and if you want to join one you can just look online for militias in your state or even form your own. Some may wonder why they form, and they all have different reasons. They're not usually all crazy and gearing up for war, but can even be as simple as people maintaining readiness to act in an emergency or disaster. A militia exercises our rights to not only the second amendment, but the right to assembly (peaceful, anyway) in the first amendment. As long as the group is not violent, a militia is covered by the first and second amendments of the US Constitution. So from my understanding, the Virginia government is stepping on both of those rights.

The alarm is real and I don't think people fully understand the gravity of the situation and what it presents. While people focus on the second amendment violations, of which have occurred and people seem to accept some infringement there for whatever reason, they are also stepping on the toes of the first amendment. To then threaten the involvement of the National Guard is elevating a state issue to a federal issue, which shouldn't occur unless there is a federal reason, such as violation of the constitution, in which case the National Guard should be going against the state and not the people. Then you have the state trying to step on the rights of the cities and counties by threatening to remove their elected officials.

What we are witnessing in Virginia is more than the reason for the second amendment. It's the reason we set up so many layers of checks and balances and distribution of power. This was going to happen sooner or later. I do not know if it is better this is happening on a state level as opposed to a federal level. The reason is that I believe this is the kick in the stomach people needed to see exactly what kind of a road they decided to venture down. I just don't know if it is enough to bring that realization to the whole country. This is because people said it was okay to have some restrictions. The Constitution had the line drawn and it got blurred. Now we are heading further and further down a dangerous path.

This isn't about gun rights. This is about all rights. This is about the rights of the individuals, their rights to assemble, their rights to protect themselves, their rights to their property. I hope this is the start of people waking up. I hope this all turns out for the best. I fear it may only be the tip of the iceberg.

Gun Rights or No

The topic of gun rights should very easily be headed off at the very beginning when the question of do we have a right to private property gets answered. We have a right to private property, guns are property, therefore why would we not have a right to it?

The arguments over restrictions are based around the idea of inherent dangers posed with said property. Examples of this are all over the place like buying a car, heavy machinery, explosives, chemicals, and anything else people see as dangerous. Despite this, some items do not have the same scrutiny. I can harm or kill someone with a baseball bat or a hammer, yet I do not need a background check or an age check to purchase such things. These are glaring inconsistencies that the numbers and stats around should show we should be doing the exact opposite. This is because there are a combination perceived dangers set by information or lack of, and another thing people often overlook that we in the IT world, and people in the business world, know as "risk appetite."

Risk appetite is the amount of risk or inherent danger/uncertainty that is considered acceptable to leave to risk. It is a term I had to become very familiar with in exploring IT security. When considering risk, the potential dangers are presented. We determine which ones are acceptable risks to take with our risk appetite. We can see examples of this in everyday life. Simply driving a car where we know the statistic chances we could be injured, have problems, or even die yet we accept the risk to drive because the benefits of it exceed the risk. When driving we may choose to speed because of our risk appetite, putting aside the dangers or potential ticket as an acceptable risk. Usually once the consequences hit, there is obvious regret because the decision of acceptable risk was made without the apparent glaring consequences we thought we could either ignore or avoid.

In life as individuals we constantly make choice after choice, weighing risks or choosing to ignore them. As a result there are plenty of examples of what can go wrong reported on despite most of the times things turning out okay. People more conscious of things going wrong will see more risk than those exposed to things going just fine without many, if any, consequences. People can live to a ripe old age smoking every day of there life and others may have smoked only a few times and ended up with cancer. With all the potential outcomes, very few things could be considered for certain.

So why would we take the risk if there's even a chance of something going wrong? Because there are also consequences to not doing something. Choosing not to drive a car could cause you to lose out on all the potential. Even more so, simply walking around could cause you to be hit by a car where the person inside the car with all the safety features walks away unscathed. There are many sides to every arguments and every possible decision.

So now the real core of the matter, guns. Personally, I feel no need to make a justification for any type of private property I own. I own a handful of different guns and I have never viewed it as a problem. I have also never had a problem with someone who chooses not to own a gun and if they want to stay away from them I support that and feel everyone who is uncomfortable around a gun should not own one until they can feel comfortable and safe with it. I also have no problem with others owning guns, concealed carrying, or open carrying. My problem never arises with the guns, but the actions people do when they have a gun.

When a person owns a gun, the risk varies depending on the individual. For example, if a person has children they run the risk of accidental discharge or misuse by the child without proper precautions. If a person is reckless, they may cause an accident with the firearm. Risks to people surrounding them are also apparent. Much like walking along a road, the safety of those around the road depend on the drivers as much as those around a gun owner depend on the safety and responsibility of the carriers. Considering how far we have come as a society and how little actually goes wrong compared to how many people are on the planet, I do not see that as problematic. Most areas with a lot of guns are perfectly safe.

So what if we do not have any gun ownership among private citizens, then what? Realistically most places maintain the same safety as before and the government does whatever regardless of potential threats or lack there of to them. There still is plenty fo fear mongering that goes on with both sides of the argument. There are potentials of mass shooters, there are potentials of government taking too much power, we see it happen. The potential on both sides is real and realized around the globe almost every day. So why should we pick a side?

Here's what the real truth is. In our individual lives we will face many individual things that may justify needing a gun or never at all. It is our choice what property we own. Letting the government tell the ultimate authority, the people, what they can and cannot privately own is the danger. It is the slippery slope we are sliding down now. I own a gun because I want to protect myself, my family, and my property from any external threat, people or government. I have a right to own a gun not because I'm over 18, not because I am responsible, but because I can acquire it. Take the sale of guns away, the people will make their own or find a way to get them. By regulating it, the only thing that is done is more criminals are made. We should all accept the risk of freedom and never sacrifice freedom for safety.