Personal Manifesto Of A Simple Man Who Cares About America

A Personal Manifesto Of A Simple Man Who Cares About America

FROM OUR FRIENDS AT GUN CARRIER

By Gary L. Coats

The following is a letter I received from one of our loyal readers, the opinions expressed are his own:

I am writing this two days after the Orlando slaughter of innocent people. I am not a politician and I am not an activist, but I am a patriot and someone who cares deeply about my country and about family and friends.

America is a land of laws. Those laws are backed by accountability and consequences. The fear of consequences. One of our challenges is that our laws do not hold people accountable nor do they deter criminals because they are not fearful of the consequences of crimes. Our problem is not gun laws, it the lack of consequences when guns are used in a crime.

When there are laws so severe that people are afraid of the consequences, they are less likely to commit crimes. That argument has been beaten to death and is a true statement backed by many studies, but there is a flaw in that argument. Our judicial system is broken. Innocent people get convicted of crimes they did not commit, guilty people go free because of loopholes, judges with political agendas, overcrowded jails and prisons and juries of our peers are human beings, who are also flawed. So, is it all just a hopeless catch 22? I don’t think so.

Our judicial system is based on one principal…the quest for truth. So, if we know the judicial system is flawed, why haven’t we looked to science to help us with the detection of truth? I don’t mean a polygraph; I mean some sort of test or device that is 99.9% effective. Call me crazy (if you haven’t already), but wouldn’t it weigh heavy on a criminal’s mind if he/she knew they couldn’t “beat the system?” You back that up with more stringent penalties and then let’s see what happens.

We spend trillions of dollars on technical and biological research. We can clone people, grow replacement body parts in labs, share vital human organs through transplants and stop horrible diseases in their tracks through simple immunizations (oops…that’s another reason to hate me, you moms who don’t believe in immunization).

I myself have been injured and partially paralyzed twice, but medical science put this Humpty Dumpty back together again and I am fully functional. Would it be too crazy to invest some of those trillions of dollars into truth detection science? If it reduced the need for most trials and the majority of tax paid judicial system costs, would that justify the expense? If 99.9% of people convicted of crimes that we knew were actually guilty, would that justify the expense?

Look at what the simple breath analyzer did for detecting drunk driving rather than making a judgment call.

OK…now that we’ve fixed the consequences for committing crimes and we’ve fixed our search for truth, let’s go full circle back to our gun laws. I am licensed to carry a concealed weapon in 44 states. I was trained to handle weapons as a police officer, I have been hunting safely for over 50 years, I am fanatical about gun safety, I have grandchildren in my home, I have no loaded weapons unless it is on my side and I have a gun safe.

Now about me personally. I have a “hero” complex. If I see someone being picked on I intervene. When my family, friends, and even strangers are in harm’s way, I protect them. I am not Superman, in fact, I am a 63-year-old overweight, ex-jock with the physical endurance of an infant, but when needed it’s amazing how much energy and thoughtfulness I can muster up. Did I mention I was a 3rd degree black belt in Kung Fu San Soo in my prime? You see, I understand the mechanics and principals of fighting.

I also understand the laws, ethics and mechanics of shooting. And, I care about my fellow human beings. Now…would you rather me be at the movie theater with you and my training, my beliefs and my hero complex, or a radical with weapons who has a martyr complex and thinks killing and dying is a religious experience and picks the theater we are at to exercise his manifesto? I’m not saying I could stop him and I’m not promising I could save your life, but I am saying you can be absolutely guaranteed that I would try.

Now…let’s take on the assault weapon argument. For those that understand weaponry at any level, we know that “legal” assault weapons are a matter of cosmetics…not killing potential. When I was a barefoot kid living in the Ozarks, I hunted everything with a single shot .22 rifle, because it was all I had and I was a very successful hunter. My rifle held one round. Legal assault rifles are not fully automatic. They have all of that tactical and military look and feel, but they are not fully automatic. All of those lasers and scopes and the folding stocks do not make them any more lethal than that rifle a Kansas farmer carries in his truck to keep predators away from his cows.

Since I am a reasonable man, I will support the argument that even single action weapons can be fired rapidly (as fast as you pull the trigger) but maybe that’s the actual problem we need to address…not the weapon’s looks, but it’s potential to kill masses. I used to own a Ruger Mini-14 that was customized into an assault configuration, but with a quick change of parts, it could be turned into that same simple rifle the Kansas farmer has. Think about that.

So, with one simple manifesto from one simple man, I have addressed our lenient laws, the judicial system regarding the pursuit of truth and hopefully provided some awareness about gun laws. I also have some different ideas about illegal immigration, our tax laws and the well-being of Americans, but I’ve said more here than I’ve said in the last 20 years. Thanks for reading/listening. God Bless America.

PS – Maybe Donald and Hillary would like to debate my platform…