In a tweet that supporters are calling a brave act, former Texas Representative Ron Paul calls it like he sees it posting, “Chris Kyle’s death seems to confirm that ‘he who lives by the sword dies by the sword.’ Treating PTSD at a firing range doesn’t make sense.”
What do you think?
We’ve got a problem in this country. Somehow, citizens, egged on by media, have gotten it in their heads that the Constitution’s Bill of Rights, which consists of its first ten amendments, is a pick and choose affair like some takeout meal menu. Even though it all springs from a common experience, it seems that they like this part, but not that, and the press will use their influence to promote such agendas. Much of this problem may well lay with the issue that the average American doesn’t even know what the Bill of Rights is, let alone how and why it came to be and what these rights mean for their lives. To get this rolling along, I’ll offer this quick reminder.
I. Freedom of Speech, Press, Religion and Petition
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.II. Right to keep and bear arms
A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.III. Conditions for quarters of soldiers
No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.IV. Right of search and seizure regulated
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.V. Provisons concerning prosecution
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.VI. Right to a speedy trial, witnesses, etc.
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.VII. Right to a trial by jury
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.VIII. Excessive bail, cruel punishment
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.IX. Rule of construction of Constitution
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.X. Rights of the States under Constitution
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
These initial amendments to the Constitution’s base document were conceived and ratified after a brutal revolutionary struggle that freed the American people from the oppressive rule of a monarchy. Each and every one of these rights were expressed to limit the government’s ability to harm its citizens because during the revolution Americans had faced every one of these issues under British rule.
This all brings me to the point of this article. It seems everyone loves the First Amendment, especially the press because they enjoy the right to say whatever they want. But, they don’t seem to fond these days of the Second Amendment. SSD is considered by many to be a blog. There are loads of “gun” and “tactical” blogs out there. Most are run by private citizens but as print media has seen a serious decline in recent years, large media corporations have set up their own blogs as a means to offset revenue losses. AS you can imagine, along with those blogs comes their parent corporation’s agenda.
Some corporate blogs will have two or three levels of cut outs between them and the parent corporation. Some will happily talk about guns all day long but not about support the industry to manufacture guns or the right of the individual to bear arms. As I understand it, some corporate blogs fancy themselves as having journalistic integrity, with a policy on 2A issues that they must provide “balanced” coverage. For example, if a writer posts a pro-2A article, it must be countered with an anti-gun article to offer both sides of the issue. I’m pretty appalled at that notion. How can you justify legitimizing the erosion of Constitutional rights? Imagine if the articles were discussing attempts to eliminate First Amendment freedoms, they’d be yelling from the rooftops. Worse yet, several of these sites with questionable attitudes toward the Second Amendment feature writers who are well known in firearms circles. I don’t understand how you can make a living from firearms but work for an organization that wants to put you out of business. But they do it, and they don’t disclose the agenda of their parent companies when they work with the firearms industry.
Recently, a writer for a corporate blog commented that I must be working for a company because that company chose to provide content to SSD rather than his blog which is owned by a large media corporation with a long history of anti-2A action. In a way, he was right. Unapologetically, SSD works for the firearms and tactical industries. We exist to cover them. There’s no subterfuge here. We don’t pal up to a company, write about them and funnel the profits of that coverage to be used to fundamentally undermine the industry.
I urge industry to investigate any media they cooperate with including us. Regardless of size, blogs exist for three reasons. Some blogs are set up as a means to get free stuff. Others are there solely as a means to make money. And there is a third category, those blogs that have a passion both for the industry as well as our system of government and the way of life it provides.
Readers and industry alike should support those that support them. In case you have difficulty considering who is on “our” side, take a look at both coverage and actions. If a blog is always asking for freebies but not supporting the right to bear arms, they are a part of the problem. So go out there and see for yourself. Investigate. Ask questions of media who want to write about you. This includes web-based and print magazines, newspapers as well as blogs.
Don’t let others treat our Constitution’s Bill of Rights as a takeout menu, picking and choosing which suits their agenda. They will use any means to undermine our cause. The Constitution’s Bill of Rights exist for a reason and that is to protect the individual from an oppressive government. Every time one of these rights is weakened the strength of the others is as well.
Just because the media has labeled Eddie Ray Routh, the alleged murderer of Chris Kyle, as a PTSD sufferer, we have no evidence as of yet, that PTSD had anything to do with this heinous act. Unfortunately, there are those that are going to become instant experts and blame this horrible affliction for Chris Kyle’s death. I urge all SSD readers to be patient and wait for facts before making judgements about PTSD. Our brothers and sisters who have PTSD deserve it.
I am a firm believer in concealed carry. If your state has a provision for carrying a weapon that is within your means to acquire you should do so. I am also a firm believer that if someone shoots you, they will have a gun 100% of the time. It’s science, like water and dinosaurs. If you don’t have the means to respond in kind, your survivability drops to somewhere in the range of a snowman in Florida.
I am fortunate to live in a state where permit to carry a weapon is easy to acquire for a law-abiding citizen. North Carolina has some restrictions on where you can carry, but I just avoid those places as much as possible. I love visiting Utah, because it is illegal for most places to prohibit you from carrying a gun. Many western states have similar laws, which is a major check for them in my relocation criteria when I leave NC. There is simply no way I would live somewhere I couldn’t carry. As we learned yet again this week, prohibiting carry is simply misdirected feel-good legislation. The harsh reality sets in for citizens of Chicago on a daily basis. In the only state with ZERO provision for carrying a weapon as a citizen, a 15-year old girl who had just performed at the Presidential Inauguration was shot on the streets by gang members. How could that be? Handgun carry is illegal! They must not have known. Allowing your citizens to be victimized and your population to be held hostage by crime is deplorable at best, and should be our most intolerable form of criminal negligence. Unfortunately, this is the norm for Chicago and countless other liberal strongholds in America. Knowing their intended victims are helpless empowers and emboldens criminals.
So you can’t carry. There are a number of reasons people who would otherwise love to be armed cannot. I understand the simple reality that people have to live in places like Illinois, Maryland, California, or DC. Not everyone can walk away from a career, or family obligations, or their own business to live somewhere that aligns with your personal beliefs on self defense. For these people, your answer here is not clearly defined. Carry a knife, a baton, mace, a rabbits foot…I dunno. For you I suggest a strict adherence to avoiding areas where crime is likely, and never letting your guard down. I also suggest doing everything in your power to support the repeal of laws that endanger you and your family.
So you can carry…then do it! I can’t count how many of my buddies are well trained Special Operations members, among the best gun fighters in the world, and for years have been saying “I really need to go get that carry permit…” Being too lazy to carry is also criminal in my mind. I bet the Saturday morning CHP class will not have seemed like such a burden in retrospect if you are figuring out how to treat your sucking chest wound in a Wal Mart parking lot, as some crackhead absconds with your groceries. Carry the biggest gun you can. If you can conceal a Glock 19 and you carry a J-Frame instead, get serious. Carry what’s easy to shoot, carry the most efficient gun you can. Carry everywhere you can, all the time. Don’t open carry if you can conceal. It’s not a statement, unless your statement is “shoot me first.” And practice, especially as you would carry. If you shoot one gun exclusively in training and carry another, you’re set up for failure when you can’t afford to fail. If you can’t draw from your AIWB holster of the month because you only shoot from a duty holster, I’m sure your funeral will be lovely.
I’m not going to give the advice to carry illegally. That would be illegal and I fully support adherence to the law. I’ll just leave this here…
“My Gunfighter moment this week is real simple; support the NRA. I simply can’t say that enough – upgrade your membership, rejoin, recruit a new member, do something to get involved.
The NRA isn’t perfect but I can tell you from personal experience the only thing that gives the 2nd Amendment any meaning at all is the 4 million members of the National Rifle Association. I have traveled the globe in my firearms career and been exposed to the gun cultures of other countries; they all to a man wish they had something as powerful as the NRA. Every single time I hear the same comment.
Right now more than ever we need everyone who enjoys the firearms freedoms we have engaged in the fight. The anti gunners are using the Sandy Hook tragedy as the golden opportunity they have been waiting for to go all in on killing the 2nd Amendment . Remember they don’t want you to be able to own firearms – period! There is no compromising with extremists as they are not rational – therefore we have to fight them tooth and nail to preserve our freedoms. And that fight is now !!
Stay vigilant – stay engaged – stay in the fight !! And support the NRA !!”
-Larry Vickers
Vickers Tactical Inc.
Host of TacTV
Larry Vickers of Vickers Tactical in a retired US Army 1st SFOD-Delta combat veteran with years of experience in the firearms industry as a combat marksmanship instructor and industry consultant. In recent years he has hosted tactical firearms related TV shows on the Sportsman Channel with the latest being TacTV of which Bravo Company is a presenting sponsor.Larry Vickers special operations background is one of the most unique in the industry today; he has been directly or indirectly involved in the some of the most significant special operations missions of the last quarter century. During Operation Just Cause he participated in Operation Acid Gambit – the rescue of Kurt Muse from Modelo Prison in Panama City, Panama. As a tactics and marksmanship instructor on active duty he helped train special operations personnel that later captured Saddam Hussein and eliminated his sons Uday and Qusay Hussein. In addition he was directly involved in the design and development of the HK416 for Tier One SOF use which was used by Naval Special Warfare personnel to kill Osama Bin Laden. Larry Vickers has developed various small arms accessories with the most notable being his signature sling manufactured by Blue Force Gear and Glock accessories made by Tangodown. In addition he has maintained strong relationships with premium companies within the tactical firearms industry such as BCM, Aimpoint, Black Hills Ammunition, Wilson Combat, Schmidt & Bender and Daniel Defense.
Larry Vickers travels the country conducting combat marksmanship classes for law abiding civilians, law enforcement and military and has partnered with Alias Training to coordinate classes to best meet the needs of the students attending the class.
Gunfighter Moment is a weekly feature brought to you by Alias Training & Security Services. Each week Alias brings us a different Trainer and in turn they offer some words of wisdom.
Throughout the month of February, SKD Tactical will donate 5% of their sales to the NRA-ILA. They will accept additional contributions from customers as well.
I’ve received several messages recently from readers concerned that we have politicized SSD by our coverage of Second Amendment issues. To that I have this to say. Just over a month ago now I was fat, dumb and happy, legally enjoying my right to bear arms when a madman used a firearm to kill innocent children with a gun. He was a criminal and as far as I am concerned, insane. Not even a day passed before anti-Second Amendment forces used this tragedy to begin to say that I shouldn’t have a right to own the type of a gun that was used in that heinous act. Never mind that I, along with millions of my fellow gun owners, have never committed a crime with a firearm. Never mind that the maniac who killed 26 victims on December 14th violated numerous standing firearms laws. Never mind that the American cities with the toughest firearms laws are the most dangerous. No, instead of using reason, the anti-gun movement chose to politicize this tragedy as a means to take away our constitutional rights. As long as there are those that wish to strip our country of our right to bear arms, I will discuss it on SSD.
I’m not going to take this laying down. I’m going to be vocal. I’m going to say, “No!” I’m going to counter their lies with truth. I’m going to ask you to join me. And through it all, I’m not going to apologize for it.
