United States – -(AmmoLand.com)- Reports that the United States Postal Service engaged in the surveillance of pro-Second Amendment activists are very serious, and they also warrant some serious thinking by Second Amendment supporters.
First of all, the surveillance of participants in peaceful protests is beyond the pale. There is no justification for it. That being said, one of the incidents referenced was the “peaceful armed protest” at the January 18, 2021 “Lobby Day” in Virginia.
Should pro-Second Amendment leadership control Congress, there needs to be some serious oversight hearings and some serious consequences for this surveillance, most likely through the power of the purse that Congress has. Second Amendment supporters should write their Senators and Representative to demand this happen.
This is crucial. The Postal Service will be hiking rates to try to address potential losses of $60 to $70 billion over the next ten years. It’s time for them to focus on the core mission as opposed to following political whims.
That being said, it may also be time for Second Amendment supporters to re-think “open carry” protests. While there are some media outlets that give us a fair shake at a minimum, the vast majority of them don’t, and will paint such protests in a bad light.
Some will say “there goes Harold the Fudd again,” but there are some objective conditions here. The media climate, while it’s not as bad as it was, is still generally hostile. If Jonathan Turley is right, then the media landscape will grow even more hostile in the coming years as calls for discarding balance in favor of propaganda increase.
They may not be explicitly going after Second Amendment activists now, but what do they do when screaming about Trump doesn’t work. And it will probably get worse. The fact is Second Amendment supporters must factor media coverage – potentially hostile coverage – into their plans and keep in mind that they have NO control over who shows up to cover a protest you announce.
There is also the fact that Merrick Garland’s Justice Department has already gone after parents who protested certain things taught in their local schools. We also know that the Biden administration is very hostile to our Second Amendment rights. Then there is the fact that banks could decide to financially deplatform Second Amendment supporters.
This is not to say we don’t advocate for our rights, but it is saying that there needs to be a lot of thought put into HOW we advocate for our rights in the present climate. Otherwise, it will be harder to defeat anti-Second Amendment extremists via the ballot box at the federal, state, and local levels.
About Harold Hutchison
Writer Harold Hutchison has more than a dozen years of experience covering military affairs, international events, U.S. politics and Second Amendment issues. Harold was consulting senior editor at Soldier of Fortune magazine and is the author of the novel Strike Group Reagan. He has also written for the Daily Caller, National Review, Patriot Post, Strategypage.com, and other national websites.
More compromise? Hasn’t got us anything at all over the years.
F-ck Merick Garland and the media , both are corrupt piles if shit that need to be ignored. They don’t exist in my world and neither does their lies or deception . I can deny thier existence just like Democrats deny the 2020 election fraud. Works for me !
Good article, Harold may be young,,,,at least compared to me and several of you, but this is yet another well worded insight. We must be cautious so we don’t come across as military wanna-bees or uneducated thug deplorables. What’s wrong with standing your ground and not giving an inch, while doing it in a professional (actually constitutional) way. It does no good to scare uneducated people, it just gives them fuel for their fire. They already know what the 2A community is capable of, that’s why they’re apprehensions of us. Just the opinion of an old fart.
Disagree. First, civil disobedience on a massive scale is an effective tool to resist an oppressive government. Dr Martin Luther King is the best example of this. Simply refuse to submit to unconstitutional laws and regulations. There is not enough room in the jails and courts to handle a well organized, motivated population standing on the firm ground of civil and natural law based liberties. Dr King was not worried about appearing ‘uppity’ to a potentially hostile press. Neither should we. Remember, media in America is a for profit, corporate business. Look at CNN as a role model for how… Read more »
If this goes unpunished, the 4th amendment is as dead as the founders.
Government is above the law. The citizans are the servants of the law…