Evil vs. Evil

Bryan S. Sampsel
September 14, 2000

A terrible plague has hit the gun community. The plague is simple. Gun owners are willing to vote for a candidate who has pledged to increase gun control. The great hope is that he�s lying to appease �Joe Sixpack� and that he won�t keep his campaign promise.

The �Lesser of Two Evils� is a nasty plague. Because we�re too terrified to make our stand and back a 100% Pro RKBA candidate, �we� as gun owners are willing to compromise and vote into office a man who has repeatedly said he�s in favor of MORE gun control.

What is wrong with this picture?

Normally, we criticize politicians who don�t keep their campaign promises. Now, we�re banking on one politician to break those same promises. Is that logic?

George W. Bush is considered our only �viable� candidate for President of the United States. The standards used to judge that are flawed. �Viability� is made or broken by the numbers of people willing to vote for that candidate. We can make a candidate �viable.�

First, GW is in favor of MORE GUN CONTROL. He is not 100% Pro RKBA. He has stated on his campaign website that he wants to extend the high capacity magazine ban to foreign imports. He wants for force background checks for private gun sales at gun shows. He wants to increase the age for possession of a handgun from 18 to 21 (aren�t 18, 19, and 20 year olds adults legally?). He wants a �semi automatic assault weapons ban for juveniles.� 

Enough.

GW wants to increase the idiotic high capacity magazine ban. What is wrong with this? It�s stupid. It does nothing constructive and actively undermines the Second Amendment. Stupid laws are still bad laws.

GW wants to force me to use the NICS for selling my PRIVATE PROPERTY at a gun show. Well, where does that stop? Does that mean that if I find a buyer at a gun show who buys it later, that we must still use NICS? Not a good sign to me folks. Regardless of WHERE I�m selling my firearm, it�s my PRIVATE PROPERTY. If I want to pay some FFL to run a check for me, VOLUNTARILY, that�s different. But GW is not saying this�he wants to FORCE me to use NICS for PRIVATE SALES.

GW wants to increase the age for POSSESSION of a handgun from 18 to 21. It�s bad enough that since the 60�s the purchase age has been 21. But to limit a legal adult�s choice of self defense options because they�re a younger LEGAL ADULT is WRONG. Let�s face it, making possession of an item illegal is wrong.

GW wants a �Semi-automatic assault weapons ban for juveniles.� An �assault weapons ban� by any name is bad. Using the term �juveniles� merely pulls at the heart strings and distracts us all from the true purpose. What juveniles get to handle, and how, should be up to their legal guardians. More gun laws are bad. Stupid gun laws are bad. This is bad. What�s worse, is the law concept uses cosmetic standards on what an �assault weapon� is�though any student of history can tell you Hitler coined the phrase �Assault Rifle� for an automatic weapon Germany developed. History Channel can be a useful thing to watch sometimes�

George W. Bush has promised to create additional gun control laws. Why then, does the gun community vote for him?

Simple. �We� are afraid. The gun community has been brainwashed into believing that they cannot make a true 100% Pro RKBA candidate win. They must merely guard against the �evil democrat.� That is purely defensive thinking. And it�s not working.

Our fundamental rights are at risk no matter which major party is in charge. Gore wants to spend federal dollars to further social programs. Bush wants to increase the �War on Drugs� and provide �free� gun locks with Federal Money (OUR MONEY). Both are BIG GOVERNMENT.

In all fairness, Gore is pushing for even more gun control line items than Bush. But then, Bush is the �lesser� of two evils.

Ya know what? The lesser of two evils is still evil. Are we postponing the inevitable if we keep voting like this? Yes. But only because we restrict our future to two paths: evil and evil. If we create a third path, we can fix things.

Were the gun owners to band together and vote for a 100% Pro RKBA candidate, we could make him win. We make a candidate viable by voting for him. There is NO OTHER WAY to make a candidate �viable.� We can also break the other parties, remind them to return to the oaths taken by their elected members.

Ultimately, change begins somewhere. Those who are willing to vote third party are looking to the future, not looking into the next five minutes. They are willing to sacrifice a pyric victory in order to attain their ultimate goal: a candidate who will work to take our great Country back to its Constitutional roots.

If we don�t change now, when? There will always be another �Al Gore� to worry about. Likewise there will always be his less-evil twin to consider our �champion� � but like now, he�s not truly our champion. When will �we� truly start the change?