Personal Manifesto Of A Simple Man Who Cares About America
By Gary L. Coats
The following is a letter I received from one of our loyal readers, the opinions expressed are his own:
I am writing this two days after the Orlando slaughter of innocent people. I am not a politician and I am not an activist, but I am a patriot and someone who cares deeply about my country and about family and friends.
America is a land of laws. Those laws are backed by accountability and consequences. The fear of consequences. One of our challenges is that our laws do not hold people accountable nor do they deter criminals because they are not fearful of the consequences of crimes. Our problem is not gun laws, it the lack of consequences when guns are used in a crime.
When there are laws so severe that people are afraid of the consequences, they are less likely to commit crimes. That argument has been beaten to death and is a true statement backed by many studies, but there is a flaw in that argument. Our judicial system is broken. Innocent people get convicted of crimes they did not commit, guilty people go free because of loopholes, judges with political agendas, overcrowded jails and prisons and juries of our peers are human beings, who are also flawed. So, is it all just a hopeless catch 22? I don’t think so.
Our judicial system is based on one principal…the quest for truth. So, if we know the judicial system is flawed, why haven’t we looked to science to help us with the detection of truth? I don’t mean a polygraph; I mean some sort of test or device that is 99.9% effective. Call me crazy (if you haven’t already), but wouldn’t it weigh heavy on a criminal’s mind if he/she knew they couldn’t “beat the system?” You back that up with more stringent penalties and then let’s see what happens.
We spend trillions of dollars on technical and biological research. We can clone people, grow replacement body parts in labs, share vital human organs through transplants and stop horrible diseases in their tracks through simple immunizations (oops…that’s another reason to hate me, you moms who don’t believe in immunization).
I myself have been injured and partially paralyzed twice, but medical science put this Humpty Dumpty back together again and I am fully functional. Would it be too crazy to invest some of those trillions of dollars into truth detection science? If it reduced the need for most trials and the majority of tax paid judicial system costs, would that justify the expense? If 99.9% of people convicted of crimes that we knew were actually guilty, would that justify the expense?
Look at what the simple breath analyzer did for detecting drunk driving rather than making a judgment call.
OK…now that we’ve fixed the consequences for committing crimes and we’ve fixed our search for truth, let’s go full circle back to our gun laws. I am licensed to carry a concealed weapon in 44 states. I was trained to handle weapons as a police officer, I have been hunting safely for over 50 years, I am fanatical about gun safety, I have grandchildren in my home, I have no loaded weapons unless it is on my side and I have a gun safe.
Now about me personally. I have a “hero” complex. If I see someone being picked on I intervene. When my family, friends, and even strangers are in harm’s way, I protect them. I am not Superman, in fact, I am a 63-year-old overweight, ex-jock with the physical endurance of an infant, but when needed it’s amazing how much energy and thoughtfulness I can muster up. Did I mention I was a 3rd degree black belt in Kung Fu San Soo in my prime? You see, I understand the mechanics and principals of fighting.
I also understand the laws, ethics and mechanics of shooting. And, I care about my fellow human beings. Now…would you rather me be at the movie theater with you and my training, my beliefs and my hero complex, or a radical with weapons who has a martyr complex and thinks killing and dying is a religious experience and picks the theater we are at to exercise his manifesto? I’m not saying I could stop him and I’m not promising I could save your life, but I am saying you can be absolutely guaranteed that I would try.
Now…let’s take on the assault weapon argument. For those that understand weaponry at any level, we know that “legal” assault weapons are a matter of cosmetics…not killing potential. When I was a barefoot kid living in the Ozarks, I hunted everything with a single shot .22 rifle, because it was all I had and I was a very successful hunter. My rifle held one round. Legal assault rifles are not fully automatic. They have all of that tactical and military look and feel, but they are not fully automatic. All of those lasers and scopes and the folding stocks do not make them any more lethal than that rifle a Kansas farmer carries in his truck to keep predators away from his cows.
Since I am a reasonable man, I will support the argument that even single action weapons can be fired rapidly (as fast as you pull the trigger) but maybe that’s the actual problem we need to address…not the weapon’s looks, but it’s potential to kill masses. I used to own a Ruger Mini-14 that was customized into an assault configuration, but with a quick change of parts, it could be turned into that same simple rifle the Kansas farmer has. Think about that.
So, with one simple manifesto from one simple man, I have addressed our lenient laws, the judicial system regarding the pursuit of truth and hopefully provided some awareness about gun laws. I also have some different ideas about illegal immigration, our tax laws and the well-being of Americans, but I’ve said more here than I’ve said in the last 20 years. Thanks for reading/listening. God Bless America.
PS – Maybe Donald and Hillary would like to debate my platform…
Do you agree with Gary on this? Let us know in the comments below, and make sure you like Gun Carrier's Facebook page.
Well said Sir! This country needs more heroes and less victims… God Bless The U.S.A.!
I couldn’t agree more. Our laws let the criminals off easy and prosecute the ‘innocent’ to the max. In many cases you would get a lighter sentence if you killed someone than you would get if you shot a deer out of season. Both are crimes but why so lenient to murderers. Our whole bloody system is upside down. Another beef is drunk driving. You can be caught four, five, six times and they will tap you on the wrist & send you to AA for cures. Then, of course, you will do it again. I did see where someone got a life sentence for too many drunk driving arrests. Good! But what about murder?
I think he is 100% Wright
I wish this man was running for president!
I have a lot to say due to being a VET however, I sum up with the comment “guns do not kill people, people kill people”!!! You cannot legislate “NO KILLING”!!! God Bless The U. S. of A.
I agree with you. Destroying all the guns that you could “find” in the world will not stop
the violence. Why? Criminals, and Terrorists DO NOT OBEY ANY LAWS, why do you think we
call them criminals and terrorists?
It would be impossible to find all the guns in the world. Hell!! I can make a working gun
out the junk box in my workshop, all that you would be doing is disarming the the good guys.
The Bad Guys will still be armed. The Human species is a group of warrior apes, we have
been killing each other since we first picked up a rock. People seem to think that getting rid of the
things that we use to kill one another will cure everything. In that case other things that we use are
hammers, axes, knives, sticks, rocks, automobiles, even our hands. Using that logic we would be in a
pretty sorry state of affairs, as Humans still can and will use anything to kill one another.
The idea is sound. But I think two additions are needed.
The standard penalty should be left to the victims family, with no limits on their imagination. Also the family of the criminal gets to pay for the testing, as I am sure that in most cases they knew that a problem exists! Now that will get the libs in a panic!
I agree 100% ! In areas like Chicago and New York, where guns are outlawed, the crime rates are the HIGHEST in the world. In Switzerland, where every home is required to have a weapon, they have the LOWEST crime rate in the world! May rhe American people and God preserve the 2d Amendment!
JUSTICE = JUST US = SCREW YOU.
No wonder everything is going to hell. With the Feds militarizing the police departments
it is only going to get worse. People, I fear for America, and the American way of life.
Unless “We the People” get our country back under control and under the laws of the
Constitution as it was written. Even now the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, and 10th
amendments are in danger. With Executive Order 16303, Marshal Law is just around the corner,
with a Dictatorship not far behind. We will no longer be “Citizens”, we will be “Subjects”
and by then it will be to late.
I am a Viet Nam Veteran. When I swore my oath to defend my country from all enemies
foreign and domestic. Little did I realize that it would be from my own Government.
I Love My Country, it’s my Government that I don’t trust.
And my Oath of Enlistment has no expiration date.