The opinions expressed after providing the facts in this case are not necessarily those of KeepAndBearArms.com staff or its members, and some will probably disagree with the strong statements in this message. This is me as an individual exercising my right to free speech -- while we still have one. There will be no apologies forthcoming; I mean every word. Write a rebuttal if you've got something to say about this, and put it right here.

Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan, a two-term governor in the middle of a heated battle for the U.S. Senate, was killed Monday night in a plane crash in Jefferson County, Mo., south of St. Louis.

Though condolences surely go out to former Governor Carnahan's family, you probably won't hear any gun owners crying in Missouri. Gov. Carnahan was running for the U.S. Senate against incumbent Republican Senator John Ashcroft, and the race was said to be a close one.

According to the Second Amendment Coalition of Missouri's website,

"Mel Carnahan...would rather have honest Missourians die at the hands of violent predatory criminals than to ever allow them the option of using a gun to preserve their lives or the lives of their families. Mel is a liberal elitist. He 'needs' armed bodyguards, paid for by your tax dollars, to protect his life. But for eight years - his two full terms as governor - he pulled every dirty political trick in the book to prevent passage of the strictest CCW law in the nation.

"Mel Carnahan led that campaign that lied to the legislature about concealed weapons laws�

"Mel then abused the powers of the governor�s office to spread this campaign of lies to the people of the state of Missouri. Mel Carnahan, if elected, would join the ranks of other elitist, anti-second amendment senators such as Diane Feinstein [CA], Barbara Boxer [CA], Chucky Schumer [NY], and Dick Durbin [IL]. We cannot afford to put Mel Carnahan in the U.S. Senate. Your Second Amendment rights would not survive his first term.

"So, if you vote for Mel, get ready to turn in your guns. If you want to cast your vote to best support the Second Amendment and your individual right to keep and bear arms� Vote for John Ashcroft." (source)

The late Governor Carnahan was no friend of gun owners, or of the fundamental civil right of self-defense. He defied American freedom. He blatantly disregarded his duties as an elected official to the highest office in the state of Missouri amidst a huge groundswell of citizen outcry for the decriminalization of self-defense. Disagree? Lookie here:

Missouri Constitution

Article I, Section 23 -- ARMS

That the right of every citizen to keep and bear arms in defense of his home, person and property, or when lawfully summoned in aid of the civil power, shall not be questioned; but this shall not justify the wearing of concealed weapons.

Source: http://www.moga.state.mo.us/const/a01023.htm

Article VII -- PUBLIC OFFICERS

Section 11


Oath of office.

Section 11. Before taking office, all civil and military officers in this state shall take and subscribe an oath or affirmation to support the Constitution of the United States and of this state, and to demean themselves faithfully in office.

Source: Const. of 1875, Art. XIV, � 6.

Consider these facts before you get weepy about Carnahan's plane going down:

• Governor Carnahan abused the rights of lawful, peaceable citizens in his own state.
  
  

• Governor Carnahan clearly broke his oath of office on the gun issue -- the single most important issue facing this nation as far as future freedoms are concerned -- by violating the spirit of the constitution through blocking the right to carry concealed for self-defense purposes. He did this amidst overwhelming support for the legislation and with full facts (proof) showing that not only would crime go down but lives would be saved, while he himself enjoyed armed (and concealed) protection.
  
  

• Governor Carhahan could have taken a seat from a mostly pro gun Senator, bringing his anti-gun venom and his disdain for the constitution to an already misguided Washington, D.C.

Right about now, Carnahan is probably trying to explain to The Big Governor why he blocked little old ladies from defending their own lives against rapists and murderers while he enjoyed the protection of armed bodyguards those same senior citizens paid for with the taxes he helped increase.

As far as Missourian and American freedom are concerned, this couldn't have happened to a more deserving person. Good riddance. He should have been hung for being a traitor a long time ago, but this'll do just fine.

You say I'm being "insensitive about the pain his family is feeling?" Probably. But why should I be overconcerned about his family when he didn't care about the hundreds of thousands of families he required to be easy prey, especially when many of those families lost members to violence who were trained and ready-to-carry gun owners but didn't carry a self-defense firearm because the Governor kept blocking the legislation -- with lies and deceptions -- that would have "allowed" them to protect their own lives? Yes, it is sad that ex-Governor Carnahan's family is going through the same pain hundreds and thousands of families have felt via the Governor's treasonous anti-gun policies. And condolences are certainly due the families of those who died in the crash, as well.

But, then again, I can't say that the pain is quite the same. The people who lost family members to violence because gun-owning citizens were told -- through unconstitutional statutes and the enforcers thereof -- that they couldn't defend themselves with firearms probably felt and still feel a deeper pain; those deaths were often preventable. The Governor's death, it seems, was by Divine Intervention.

Let's just say there are quite a few gun owners in Missouri today who are thinking to themselves, "Thanks for the lightning bolt, God. Good shot. Would you mind checking a few other flight schedules of people who deny free citizens the right to unencumbered self-defense, please?"

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