"I'm
not a gun owner. In fact, I hate guns. I think they
should be banned. So why should I care what the BATFE
does?"
People
have differences of opinion on many subjects, including
firearms. That diversity is part of what makes America
special. But the simple fact is that if we let ONE government
agency run rampant over our rights, we're setting a
precedent for ALL government agencies.
- If
the BATFE can arbitrarily decide that a gun they called
"legal" yesterday is suddenly illegal today
-- without passing any laws
or changing any regulations or even notifying you
of the change -- what's to prevent the
DEA from deciding the Claritin-D in your medicine
chest is suddenly a controlled substance worthy of
a 2am raid?
- If
the BATFE is allowed to routinely
commit perjury in court testifying that
their databases are 100% accurate -- and juries believe
them -- what's to prevent the Social Security Administration
from doing the same when you try to prove that no,
in fact you AREN'T an illegal alien like their records
claim?
- If
the BATFE can excuse a no-knock raid on a wrong house
with a wink and a shrug -- even
when bodies are left in the aftermath
-- what's to prevent the IRS from doing the same?
Regardless
of your feelings on firearms and gun control, we cannot
allow our government to metamorphose into a tyrannical
police state. Permitting or encouraging ANY government
agency to bend or break the law or ignore our civil
rights sets the precedent for ALL agencies to do the
same.
First
they came for the communists, and I did not speak out
- because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak
out - because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not
speak out - because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out
- because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me - and there was no one left to
speak out for me.
- Martin Niemoller