It is clear that some in government and in the media detest guns and use every emotional opportunity to drive a wedge between law-abiding citizens and their firearms. They have seized upon imagery in the Capitol to push yet again for Draconian and unconstitutional gun control.

Michigan is an open carry state, and one of 18 states which allows people to lawfully carry in the people’s house, their Capitol.

Protesting at the Michigan Capitol has been a traditional exercise in principle for several decades, inside and out—generally without incident and not one incident with a firearm. Aside from triggering emotionally-unstable leftists, zero damage has occurred.

The most recent incident was in 2012 during the right-to-work protest. Many thousand union members stormed the Capitol, and some were arrested after breaking onto the Senate floor. Violence took over a peaceful protest on the lawn of the capital, as a tent which was erected for pro-RTW demonstrators was torn down by violent protesters. Michigan State police had to wear riot gear. Capitol sergeants were on high alert. A friendly sergeant even asked me “if we could get some of the militia boys to come down as back-up.”

It turned out to be one of the most violent demonstrations in recent Michigan history, and yet not one single gun was pulled and not one shot was ever fired.

Fast forward to April 2020, after weeks of government taking extremely controversial steps in handling the coronavirus pandemic by stealing the liberty and livelihood of the citizens. People are restless, bored, struggling, succumbing to depression and alcoholism, and pissed off.

They are not frustrated due to the virus, which has not ravaged America to the extent that the experts predicted. The coronavirus did not drain their savings and their livelihood. The coronavirus did not close down their businesses or threaten to throw them in jail for violating curfew. It was the government that did those things and the people have reacted with protest.

Some in government and the media have questioned the necessity of protesting with guns. The simple straightforward answer is that the 2nd amendment defends the 1st amendment and all of our other sacred liberties. For some it is symbolic; for others it is essential.

It is clear that some in government and in the media detest guns and use every emotional opportunity to drive a wedge between law-abiding citizens and their firearms. They have seized upon imagery in the Capitol to push yet again for Draconian and unconstitutional gun control.

Think of all of the different personalities within the legislature and the executive branch, with both Democrats and Republicans in charge, and up to this point, not one has given it a thought to ban guns inside the Capitol for all of these years. The times are changing, and not for the better when it comes to our liberty.

Some legislators have even gone to the extremes of utilizing bulletproof vests and armed escorts as an obvious photo op to drive their political agenda home. But in reality they do not feel personally threatened, they simply feel their power being threatened by an armed and informed citizenry.

The reality is that government has presented a solution where there was no problem. There has never been one incident with a firearm in or outside of the Capitol in Michigan. Law-abiding firearm owners have responsibly open carried throughout the years, much to the chagrin of the gun-grabbers.

And now the same executive government which has imposed restrictions on our liberties while bypassing the legislature is seeking to ban open carry in the same manner. They may have failed in their first attempt, but this battle is far from over.

Perhaps lawmakers wouldn’t have angry protesters on their doorstep if they did not regularly abuse the public trust by voting to steal money through excessive taxation and then misappropriating those funds (see: the gas tax that never fixed the roads). After all, if the legislature did not roll over for Whitmer’s executive edicts, there would be no need for the protests.

With liberty comes personal responsibility and safety is never guaranteed to any of us and certainly not by a government which can only offer illusory safety through overt control. That is the message that needs to be sent to our public servants, and the open carrying of firearms helps to send that message.

David Dudenhoefer
Candidate for Congress
Michigan’s 13th District

You Betcha! (20)Nuh Uh.(0)