Figures don’t lie, but liars will figure! That is the guiding principle of the anti-gun Soros-Brady bunch. There are fewer deaths and injuries from legitimate firearms ownership than there are from automobiles, boating and flying. The vast majority of firearms deaths are a result of criminal activity. That being the case, why do you think the anti-gun groups are after the legitimate, law-abiding firearms owner?

The answer is simple, we are easy targets. The anti-gun people have turned a deaf ear to criminals for years, believing that if you just try and understand them and pity them because they had a deprived childhood, their criminal behavior will stop. If you believe that, I have some desert land out here that you might be interested in buying for a few thousand dollars an acre.

However, the main reason that these people want your guns, all of your guns, is that it makes it easier for them and the government to control you. Look at history, every government in the past 100 years which was repressive began by first registering, and then confiscating firearms from its citizens. An unarmed citizen poses little threat to dictatorial or repressive governments.

When you lose your right to legitimately own firearms, you lose your freedom. The latest country to go down this path is Australia. Only time will tell what their future holds, but it won’t be pretty. Because I am almost 70, I won’t live to see it, but I predict that before the middle of this century, the Aussies will regret allowing their government to confiscate their firearms. Of course, by then, it will be too late.

The same mentality that lead the National Socialist Party in Germany and the Communist Party in the Soviet Union to first register and then confiscate guns exists in the minds of the anti-gun liberals in the United States. Unfortunately, there are several eastern governors/mayors and a considerable number of politicians in the U.S. Congress who have this mentality. They will not like my comparison, but as my daddy told me, “If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck and quacks like a duck, IT IS A DUCK!”

The ACLU and the anti-gun groups in the U.S. are incredible. They will fight tooth and nail to gut and/or repeal the Patriot Act, which was designed to protect us against terrorists, yet they completely support the registration and ultimate confiscation of firearms from law-abiding citizens. THEY IGNORE THE ABSOLUTE FACT THAT CRIMINALS WILL NOT REGISTER OR SURRENDER THEIR FIREARMS. Given that bit of knowledge, how can they say that forcing law abiding citizens to register their guns or turn them in will have an impact on crime? The impact will be an increase in crime as the citizenry will be more vulnerable. The answer is simple: they are not interested in crime control, they simply hate guns and gun owners.

The ultimate hypocrisy of the ACLU (it was, after all, founded by Communists) revealed itself recently. They totally oppose a tamper-proof federal driver’s license for identification, BUT they support a federal registration of all law-abiding citizens who own firearms. This is prima fascia proof that the ACLU is totally selective as to which rights they support, and which rights they believe should not be rights. They would like to re-write our Constitution and Bill of Rights in their own image. If we allow them to succeed, you and I will be the losers.

There are over 25,000 firearms laws on the books in the U.S. With all of those laws, why are there so many crimes committed with firearms? The answer is so simple that even a 6^th grader can give you the answer. The majority of the judges in this country are soft on crime, believing that even serial killers can be rehabilitated. Add to this the most corrupt profession in the U.S., lawyers, and you have a system that allows criminals to engage in “revolving door” justice, which isn’t justice at all. On average, criminals serve less time for homicide in several states than they do for armed robbery, rape or child molestation and that is pretty sad. They should throw away the keys for all of those crimes.

Most defense lawyers are interested in cherry-picking the law to find a loophole to allow the criminal to go free. The guilt or innocence of the individual is not high on their agenda. They are only interested in finding that single sentence or word in the law that will free their armed robber or murderer. Coupled with judges who give child molesters probation, murderers less than ten years and street gangsters second, third and fourth chances and you have a broken system.

I have owned firearms for sixty years, and never used one in the commission of a crime, never shot anyone or violated the law. Heck, before crime became so out of control in the U.S., I used to hang my 30-30 in the back window of the pickup. Not any more, because of the criminals walking the streets due to the unwillingness of judges and lawyers to put them away. Am I being hard on judges and lawyers? Yes, I am. I absolutely believe that the majority are either completely naïve, totally stupid, or just plain corrupt. If they weren’t, we wouldn’t have the problems with crime that exists in the U.S. today.

If a criminal knew that he was going to jail for a long, long time, with no hope of early release, no hope of seeing the outside world or his family, they might think twice before breaking the law. If murderers knew that when convicted, tomorrow would be the last time they would ever see a sunrise or sunset, they might think twice before committing the crime. Ok, our prisons are overcrowded; build new ones. I’d rather have my tax dollars spent on prisons than on welfare, foreign aid and the salaries of corrupt judges and politicians.

Our founding fathers did not trust government and in 2008 there is even less reason to trust the officials in our government than existed over two hundred years ago. Don’t believe me? Look at the polls! The majority of Americans have no faith or trust in our government. The numbers drop every year, and is now down in the 20%-30% range, which is truly sad. We love our country, but loathe the politicians who now run it for their personal gain and aggrandizement.

It is time for hunters, target shooters and legitimate firearms owners to stop being defensive about our sports. We need to vigorously defend our rights and freedoms. There are millions of law-abiding citizens in the United States who own firearms. We need to quit apologizing for our ownership of firearms. We need to stop apologizing for being hunters and target shooters. We need to tell the narrow-minded, naïve and often ignorant folks in our society that we have our rights and intend to keep them. I have told my neighbors (and many other folks over the years) that they do not have to like or approve that I go target shooting several times a month and hunting several times a year. It is none of their business because it does not affect them or impinge on their rights. I don’t tell them how to live their lives, and they have no right to tell me how to live mine.

And, finally, for the record: I do not believe that felons should be able to buy or own a firearm. I do not believe that individuals who have been adjudicated as mentally ill or defective should be able to buy or own a firearm. I do not believe that fully automatic military assault rifles have any place in society except in the hands of police and the military, UNLESS you are a licensed and bonded collector (I know that one is controversial, but it is my opinion and you are entitled to yours). I believe in responsible gun ownership through mandatory firearms safety training for every individual, with such training conducted by certified NRA instructors, NOT government agencies. I believe in conceal-carry laws, as they have been shown to be a deterrent to crime. And finally, I believe in the Castle Doctrine with respect to your home.

You may agree or disagree with what I have put forth in this article, and that is your right under our Constitution, at least for now. However, what about in the future?

A lot of folks have asked, "Who is Doc Clary," so here is a brief vitae:

He earned his B.S. and M.S. in fisheries and wildlife from Michigan State University in 1961/1962 and his Ph.D. in zoology from Pennsylvania State University in 1970. He served as an officer in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War Era and was honorably discharged as a Major in 1975. He is a 100% disabled veteran and Life Member of both the VFW and DAV. He has been a professor at several universities, including the USAF Academy and has conducted research in a wide variety of fields with more than 20 published papers. Doc is now retired, living in New Mexico with Mary, his wife of 20 years, and their daughter, Susannah (an avid hunter and F-Class shooter). Doc still enjoys hunting, fishing and of course, writing for Guns and Shooting Online. His website can be found on our Links Page.