Defend the Second Amendment
It's the dividing line between freedom and tyranny
Last week I wrote an essay for paid subscribers about the virtue of firearms. I’ve now unlocked it for free subscribers as well, so check it out!
The carnage we saw in Israel last week is the worst nightmare for law abiding citizens. Terrorists invaded peaceful spaces, some from the air, and started kidnapping and murdering innocent people. No matter how you feel about the greater geopolitical issues, you can imagine the awful terror of being targeted in public by people aiming to do you and your family harm.
Thankfully in the United States we still have the Second Amendment to the Constitution. Unfortunately, the absolute restriction against government infringement created by the founders has been whittled away bit by bit by elected leaders and bureaucrats who fear a well armed population. Despite the tremendous victory of expanding Constitutional Carry to more than half the states, the assault on the Second Amendment continues unabated.
Even in deep red Idaho, where the Sam Colt remains more popular than any single politician, governments at all levels are attempting to infringe upon this most valuable of our God-given rights. The State Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that it is perfectly fine for cities to engage in legal trickery to deprive you of your right to self defense. The city of Sandpoint leased a public park to a nonprofit for the duration of an event, which subsequently banned concealed firearms from the premises. Sen. Scott Herndon and others challenged the city under Idaho’s preemption laws, but after four years of litigation the Supreme Court ruled 5-0 against our Second Amendment rights.
This ruling exposed a massive loophole in Idaho’s gun laws. No matter what protections are in place at the state and national levels, cities can simply “lease” public areas to private organizations who can then deprive you of your rights. The Legislature must act to close this loophole in the 2024 session.
This is one of many issues that Greg Pruett and the Idaho Second Amendment Alliance (ISAA) are fighting on our behalf. As Pruett said at the rally today, passing Constitutional Carry should have been easy in Boise, but it took years and tons of work from the grassroots. Closing this preemption loophole should also be easy, but we all know that many in the Legislature only care about the Second Amendment as far as they need to get an NRA endorsement.
It was great to see so many defenders of the Second Amendment at the ISAA rally this afternoon. Sen. Glenneda Zuiderveld opened in prayer led the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by former (and future) state senator Christy Zito sharing a story of a gun in the hands of a good man saving lives in the early days of the American Republic. After leaving the State Senate last year, Zito went to work with Pruett and the ISAA to continue fighting for our Second Amendment rights.
Sen. Brian Lenney shared his perspective as a California refugee, pointing out that the same forces that turned those states blue are fighting hard to do the same to Idaho, and that gun rights will be the first thing taken away once they have power.
I can speak to this process. I grew up in Washington, which once had a fairly libertarian reputation. However, left wing groups, many of whom were financed by big national anti-gun organizations, used citizen’s initiatives to methodically take away the gun rights of Washingtonians. They started with so-called “common sense” ideas such as universal background checks, which as Pruett pointed out are the first step in universal gun registrations, and then moved on to red flag laws. By the time I left in 2018, Seattle had already placed an onerous tax on ammunition, and this year Gov. Jay Inslee signed a ban on many common firearms.
This same process will happen in Idaho if you and I don’t stand up and say NO! The next speaker, Sen. Tammy Nichols, pleaded with the crowd to get involved. Donate money to good candidates and organizations who will protect your Second Amendment rights. Knock on doors and share information with your neighbors. Most importantly, bring pressure during the legislative session. Testify before committees, and bring your neighbors to testify too. Write and call your elected representatives and urge them to be stalwart against any attempt to roll back our rights.
ISAA President Greg Pruett shared a story from his time in Iraq serving in the US Armed Forces. He visited Saddam Hussein’s palace in Tikrit and compared that to the poverty in which the average Iraqi citizen lived. No matter your feelings on the Global War on Terror, Saddam was by all definitions a tyrant, and tyrants can only rule a disarmed citizenry.
The keynote speaker was famed YouTuber Garand Thumb who brought his unique style to the Capitol today. Thumb, known in real life as US Air Force veteran Mike Jones, moved to Idaho after watching other states fail to protect Second Amendment rights. He fired up the crowd, keeping us on our feet with questions and discussing the need to raise up a new generation of freedom fighters in America. When he finished, Pruett jokingly suggested “Garand for Governor,” which has since taken root on Twitter. With 3.3 million subscribers, he could be a formidable candidate someday.
I hope that the crowd that showed up to Boise today is ready to keep the pressure on our lawmakers next session. We need them to fix the preemption loophole, strengthen Stand Your Ground, and say no to any form of registration, red flag law, or any other infringements on our Second Amendment rights.
It is in the 2024 legislative session that I hope to demonstrate the value that Gem State Substack brings to the discourse. I will be there in person most every day, tracking legislation, committee hearings, and everything else you need to know to effectively communicate with your legislators. It is only when you get involved that we see positive change in our state. The Second Amendment is the most important of our God given rights, because it protects all the rest. If we lose that, then we lose all. Let’s get to work!
... I’m half Syrian. Our US govt has DESTROYED Syria and lied their asses of about Assad.
No, the US “figureheads” are the DESPOTS.
PS: Make no mistake.... Our own government is a TYRANT in reality. No less than Saddam Hussein. Our government and all Presidents back to 1880s laid the groundwork as a tyrannical govt, starting wars to keep the deceptive practices of money control, but was under the radar. Next Federal Reserve in 1914, a non Govt organization to steal productivity from all Americans in the form of outlandish taxes. Wars are started to keep Central Bank money flowing.
What right did US have to BUTT into Iraq. Why not the Communist Atheist Jews of Soviet Union? Im sure the Khazarian Banker Jews (not Orthodox Jews) in the US were on the take.
This is the swamp and President Trump made a pledge to drain it. His 2020 election was stolen but allowed for the curtain to be pulled back... to expose all the atrocities and tyrannical nature of USA Inc, the foul stench of Atheist Khazarian Jews who control Money (Rothschilds).
Most politicians, even in our own state, are trained in the art of Deception. They are vermin and I believe their days are numbered. This country must fall before the phoenix rises from the ashes.
Get ready.