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.
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David Blakeman
August 14, 2016 at 3:15 PM
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.
Jack Titus
August 11, 2016 at 1:45 AM
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!
Jim
August 10, 2016 at 9:38 AM
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!
Skip Plummer
August 10, 2016 at 8:49 AM
This country’s priorities have slowly been getting turned upside down for a lot of years now. The unknowing “sheep” of today are concentrating everything that they’ve got on one of this country’s heritage items, the firearm. Without personal firearms and the “citizen soldier” this country never even would have attained a “start” in this world. “Those nasty guns!”
And while all of the sheep are jumping up and down about those nasty guns, and as the above letter pointed out, our judicial system has become a revolving door where “nuts” that never should have been allowed the ownership of a weapon are concerned. In our “new system” the sheep (police included) keep enabling the “nuts” so that the most of them can be run through the legal system and, often as not, returned to the streets to offend again… despite our many volumes of “gun laws”.
This is a problem that could be tackled and brought under control but to do that would have to start with the legal system and incarceration. I currently see no hope of something like that happening.
Michael Tinsley
July 13, 2016 at 6:08 PM
I pretty much agree with Gary but I think a different emphasis is needed. I believe the problem starts at home in early childhood where parental neglect in teaching their children the basics of right vs wrong leads to untrained creatures being let loose on society.
If you aren’t trained at home to be respectful of others, not to hate others, and not to see differences but similarities in other people, there is no chance by age 6 that these creatures will behave properly in social settings.
We see in big city schools who require wearing uniforms to keep children from stealing classmates’ shoes and articles of clothing, what happens when early training is denied. That leads to disobedience in the classroom and ultimately to dropout rates higher than suburban or rural schools and puts these uneducated young adults on the street in violent gangs with stolen weapons and no moral compass. Greed drives their desires and leads to home invasions, business robberies, and violent protests with many being injured or killed.
Early moral training is a big part of the solution before the problems listed above ever start and, being a Christian, its my personal belief that a grounding in Bible study will teach children how to become an accountable, useful citizen in today’s troubled America.
Those practices would also be a great help in minimizing home-grown terrorism by not allowing those harmful ideologies to disseminate and develop non-anchored youths turning them into mass murderers.
I am a gun owner with a concealed carry permit and only have weapons for personal and, friends and family protection since I don’t hunt or consider target shooting a sport I’m interested in. I know how to use my weapons from my time in the Army, from tear-down and cleaning and reassembly and, for shooting accurately to stop an assault.
Things have certainly changed since my teenage years in the mid-sixties which is when the ruining of America began and, now its led us to a country full of ‘me-me-me’ people who only think about themselves and with absolutely no moral guidance because they weren’t taught those things as toddlers.
Our founding fathers wouldn’t recognize the country they created 240 years ago and that is a travesty of human behavior. We have no ethics in our society and its proven every time the news is broadcast anywhere in these ‘United’ States.
David Blakeman
August 14, 2016 at 3:54 PM
Yes I agree! When I was a child, if I screwed up I got punished, by both of my parents. Mom never said “wait till your Dad gets home, she could lower the boom very well thank you”. As I am a navy brat, Dad was at sea quite often, so Mom ruled the roost most of the time. Dad ran the house like a ship of the Navy when he was home. At the time I thought they were picking on me, in hindsight they loved and cared about me, and I am better man for it.
Now let’s jump ahead thirty years (State of Florida). I had friends who had to install an alarm system in their home, not to keep anybody out, but to keep the 11 and 12 year olds in. The local school taught them a number to call if “THEY” felt like mom and dad were being mean. The parents couldn’t punish, spank, or restrict them in any way or “Child Protective Services” would jump in and cause all kinds trouble. They could not parent without interference from Government.
Now jump ahead twenty years more. Where I live now, (NW AZ) there is NOTHING for the teens living here, no jobs (50 miles to closest town), no recreation, (except seeing how much trouble you can get into), lots of drugs, There are a few good teens living here, but the majority of the males have police records, the most of the girls brag about who they have had sex with over the weekend. I overheard that conversation at the local store. Now the Government just waits until someone screws up, then they just lock them up. Government does not care.
Dave Wilson
July 13, 2016 at 12:15 PM
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.
David Blakeman
August 14, 2016 at 4:02 PM
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.
Steve
July 11, 2016 at 9:07 AM
I wish this man was running for president!
Terry
July 9, 2016 at 10:38 PM
I think he is 100% Wright
Gary C. Smith
July 4, 2016 at 1:25 PM
This letter sounded very reasonable to me and even handed, no chest thumping and testosterone throwing rant, I like that. For once somebody speaks his mind logically, and coherently, my hat off to you sir, I wished that more people would voiced their opinions the same way. BTW, your letter was very good to my ears.
Raymond
July 4, 2016 at 11:02 AM
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?
Chris Browder
June 23, 2016 at 4:38 PM
Well said Sir! This country needs more heroes and less victims… God Bless The U.S.A.!