Pikes Peak Firearms Coalition

Below is a list of a few very basic issues in the simplest of terms. In each case, very obvious problems are presented, and it is up to you, the reader, to acknowledge those problems, that they exist, and to what extent. Then, it is up to you to decide what to do about them.

In honor of Thomas Paine and Common Sense, we would like to introduce the "duh theory," which is the act of refusing to acknowledge the most obvious, simple, and common sense truth about a thing so adamantly that one actually starts advocating an untruth in an attempt to justify their own denial; only to discover, much to their dismay, the most obvious, simple, and common sense answer is the Truth.

These are some of the simple truths as they relate to the militia; apply the "duh theory" often.

The militia -- sit down, brace yourself, this gets complicated -- is: everyone! By definition, the militia consists of "all citizens capable of bearing arms." I can list everyone and everything we are, but I think "everyone" pretty much covers it; so let's move on to what we are not.

We are not racists fighting the "great race war... to annihilate the mud people," we welcome everyone, regardless of the hue of their skin; we are not terrorists advocating violence or destroying buildings in Oklahoma full of men, women, and children, only lunatics do that; we are not right-wing religious extremists fighting "demonically controlled people activated by Satan," we welcome everyone of every religion, no religion, or anything in between as the case may be.

We are portrayed as above, as it serves the purpose of tainting the legitimacy of our concerns. (Apply the duh theory here.) For more about us, please read In Defense of Liberty II, a pamphlet of questions and answers about the Michigan Militia.

In the feudal system, of days of old, the Lord of the Manor owned the land; the Serfs worked the land, and had to give the Lord of the Manor 1/3 (or 33%) of what they produced.

This is what we pay today - Just for starters:

Social Security Tax 15% Yes, it's 15%, not 7.65%

Federal Income Tax 12% Approximate, on the low end

State income Tax 4% Again, on the low end

State Sales Tax 6% The effective rate is really 10%

Other Payroll Taxes 3% Again, on the low end

TOTAL 40% Remember, this is just for starters…

Now add to this Real Estate Taxes (whether you rent or own), Gas Taxes, Cigarette Taxes, Alcohol Taxes, Taxes already built into the price of every product you buy, etc., etc., etc... All in total, you pay between 60% to 70% of everything you earn (produce) in Taxes.

Now remember, Serfs were only required to pay 33%. Oh, by the way - Serfs were considered SLAVES. I seem to remember something in the Constitution about involuntary servitude... (Apply the duh theory here.) This is the most obvious, simple, common sense truth; denying it is not going to help or make it go away.

Additional point: At what point in the English language did income start meaning wages?

Hint: Wages are personal property, not income; income is the profit from an investment. (Apply the duh theory here.) If I remember correctly, stealing is illegal.

Before the Constitution, there was the Declaration of Independence. This document basically tells Great Britain to take a hike - we did not want a tyrannical dictator anymore. In the Declaration of Independence, listed are all the horrid things that King George III had done to his own people (remember, at that time America was a British colony). It is very interesting to note here, that most of the crimes King George III was committing against his people are identical to what our government is doing to us today.

Well, we got fed-up and decided that we no longer wanted to be ruled by King George III or Great Britain; we declared to the world that we were our own country of our own people, and we will run our country our way. Thus, America was born, and after winning the war of our Revolution, the Constitution was written.

The Constitution does not give you your rights. It can't. No mere piece of paper can give you your rights, nor can it take them away. The Constitution limits the government. It spells out, plainly and clearly, what the government can do. Any power not given to the government by the Constitution cannot be lawfully exercised by the government.

The Constitution is the Supreme Law of the Land. Therefore, when the Supreme Law of the Land is violated, that violation is illegal. (Apply the duh theory here.) This is the most obvious, simple, common sense truth; denying it is not going to help or make it go away.

In addition to the Constitution, there are 10 amendments commonly referred to as The Bill of Rights. One of the most common misunderstandings relating to the Bill of Rights is that this is where people get their rights; THIS IS INCORRECT. If this is where you are given your rights, they can be taken away. You are born with your rights; they are from your Creator - NOT from the government.

There are two important word use distinctions that must be understood when reading the Constitution and the Bill of Rights; POWER (or authority) and RIGHTS. The government and all governmental bodies have Power or authority, only People have Rights.

So, in the simplest of terms, the Constitution specifies exactly what the government CAN do. Add to that the Bill of Rights, which says what the government CAN'T do. In other words, these documents don't give you your rights, what they do is LIMIT the government. (Apply the duh theory here.)

- Thomas Jefferson

- Constitution for the United States, Second Amendment

- Constitution for the State of Michigan, Article I, Section 6

As already stated, when something violates the Supreme Law of the Land, i.e., the Constitution, that something is illegal. The federal, state, and local governments, with their gun control laws, have all violated the Supreme Law of the Land. It doesn't matter whether or not you like guns, the Constitution is the Supreme Law of the Land. (Apply the duh theory here.) This is the most obvious, simple, common sense truth; denying it is not going to help or make it go away.

Criminals, by definition, don't follow the law. Making laws to keep guns out of the criminals' hands is not going to work -- criminals don't obey the law. (Apply the duh theory here.) This is the most obvious, simple, common sense truth; denying it is not going to help or make it go away.

Okay, since we are using the Common Sense theme, there are those who would say, "It's common sense, the more guns there are, more people will get shot by them." And my response to that is, "More guns, more law abiding citizens carrying them, who would otherwise be victims, are shooting more criminals... You're right - great idea."

One more thing… unarmed citizens have not only been victimized by criminals throughout history, they have also been victimized by GOVERNMENTS. Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, Cambodia, Rwanda, and Bosnia can all serve as examples of GOVERNMENTS, in some cases DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED GOVERNMENTS, using "Gun Control" to enslave or murder thousands and even millions of unarmed, helpless victims.

Gun Control simply makes it easy for criminals and governments (kind of redundant, isn't it?) to harm decent, law abiding citizens. (Apply the duh theory here.) This is the most obvious, simple, common sense truth; denying it is not going to help or make it go away.

All government officials (varmints) take an oath of office when they are elected, appointed, hired, or whatever the case may be. Similar to: "I will uphold and defend the Constitution..."

This is what we elect them to do. You have to ask yourself, are they doing this? And, if they are not, just what, exactly, are they doing? (Apply the duh theory here.) The beauty of the Constitution is that it is designed to PREVENT government officials from imposing their own personal view or agenda upon the rest of us, which is what government officials are doing today. This is the most obvious, simple, common sense truth; denying it is not going to help or make it go away.

The word "democracy" does NOT appear in the Declaration of Independence, nor does it appear in the Constitution. There is a good reason for this: AMERICA IS NOT A DEMOCRACY; the majority does NOT rule (contrary to popular belief) -- the Constitution does. (Apply the duh theory here.) If the majority ruled, then we would not need a Constitution at all. In fact, we would not need any laws, we could just vote on whether or not something was right or wrong. This is the most obvious, simple, common sense truth; denying it is not going to help or make it go away.

Democracy is four wolves and one sheep voting on what's for dinner.
Liberty is the sheep with .357 magnum telling the wolves where to stick it.

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