"Ask the Rabbi" by R. Mermelstein
QUESTION: Dear Rabbi
Mermelstein:
Your literature is replete with examples of countries which first
registered firearms, then used those lists to confiscate them.
Unfortunately, when you use that arguement, most liberals will reply,
"but that would never happen here."
An interesting question: has there EVER been a case in which a
government required registration of firearms, but then did not sometime
in the future then confiscate those firearms? If so, what what are the
relative numbers?
For example, New York has twice ordered registration, first of
handguns, then of long guns, and has later used those lists to
confiscate (or "ensure the weapons were no longer in the city").
This requires research, and might lead to an interesting article in the future.
"alford"
04 Jun 1999
ANSWER: Dear Alford,
The question is whether there are
any cases were confiscation did not precede confiscation ... well,
there are lots of cases ... but how far "before" does the "precede"
have to be?
More importantly, the argument will never be won on mere statistical
comparisons. Stats don't mean anything when it comes to events of this
sort.
I'll address the "it can't happen here" argument briefly here: Nothing
happens until it actually happens ... and we have had slavery and
oppression under the government of the United States ... we have had
concentration camps ... we have had wars of mass relocation and
extermination of the Indians, a sort of American "ethnic cleansing." So
what is this "it can't happen here?" argument. Just because a
particular atrocity hasn't happened yet does not in any way predict the
future.
Do we fail to buy burglar alarms or lock our car doors because we
haven't been robbed yet? Firearms ownership is a protection and
deterrent. It is not merely a response to previous event.
"Liberals" are free-riders on the protection afforded by the fact that
their fellow citizens do possess firearms, and that deters both
criminals and bad government. They ought to be paying for the
protection.
Sincerely,
R. Mermelstein
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