The basic premise of a civil right is that everyone has it. It’s not something that only exists for certain parties. The only exception to that has been if someone is convicted in court of a crime, where they can lose their freedom for a time, and the worse the offense, the greater the loss of liberty.
In fact, the loss of freedom is the entire point of the punishment.
When it comes to the Second Amendment, though, it’s binary. You either have your rights or you’ve screwed up and been stripped of them. We can debate the latter another time. I’m talking about the status quo, not what should or shouldn’t be. Just how things are.
Unfortunately, by now, you likely know about a bill that seeks to create a national concealed carry permit system for active duty and veterans of various special operations units. Basically, your buddy who has a Ranger will get to carry in all 50 states, even though he hasn’t looked at a gun in 20 years, but you, who goes to classes to train every weekend, won’t because you were just regular infantry.
To say this isn’t landing well with a lot of people is to put it mildly.
At the Association for Mature American Citizens, a conservative alternative to AARP, there’s a piece begging lawmakers not to turn the Second Amendment into a two-tiered right.
I say this as an American who has been formally qualified to bear arms. I am an expert marksman through various combat programs in the military, and I currently hold a lifetime concealed carry permit. I’ve trained with some of the finest warriors this nation has ever produced, including special operations forces whose courage and skill I respect without reservation.
But respect for our elite veterans does not mean I will stand silent while Congress carves out special privileges that treat the Second Amendment as a government favor instead of what it is: an unalienable right belonging to We the People. Anything less is fundamentally at odds with the Constitution I swore to defend.
The Second Amendment is crystal clear: “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.”
Note the words: “the people.” Not “the people except those who haven’t completed BUD/S.” Not “the people who have a government-issued special badge.” The right belongs to every law-abiding American citizen. Period.
When government starts deciding which Americans are “special enough” to exercise a right without having to jump through the usual state-level hoops, it stops being a right and becomes a privilege. And privileges can be revoked tomorrow by the same politicians who granted them.
I’ve heard the counterargument: “These operators are exceptionally trained. They’ve earned it. Retired cops already have concealed carry reciprocity, so why not extend it?” Here’s why.
Go read author Rob Maness’s arguments, because I agree with them.
I’m going to add that while some think this is just an act of incrementalism, it’s not. What will happen is whenever anyone tries to expand on this to, say, your average veteran, it will be countered with the fact that I, as a Navy Corpsman who did zero time with the Marines and only had the bare minimum of firearm training, am nowhere near the same level of my buddy who was a Raider doc or another who became a SEAL.
And that’s true. My one day on the range in boot camp was laughable as far as training goes. We covered safety, shot a 1911 chambered in 22 LR, didn’t even score our hits, and were out of there in a few hours after the entire company shot.
I’ve done a lot more since then, obviously, but a lot of people haven’t, and that can and will be brought up. Just like how we’re not the same as police officers and shouldn’t be allowed to carry guns like they can in all these various places.
Our rights aren’t dependent on military service. That’s not how the Founding Fathers envisioned things. In fact, the right to keep and bear arms was in case military service was needed, not as a cookie for having already served.
Some have argued that the bill is some kind of troll. If so, I’ll admit that I don’t get it. I just don’t see the troll here.
This smacks too much of someone with good intentions who didn’t think the ramifications through.
This needs to get shot down.
Editor’s Note: The radical Left will stop at nothing to enact their radical gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.
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