8 Examples of Guns & Government Oppression

When the polls opened on Aug. 1, 1946, nearly 200 armed deputies patrolled the balloting locations. According to the Tennessee State Library and Archives, Cantrell's deputies brought the ballot boxes back to the county jail. Veterans quickly responded by arming themselves and surrounding the jail. After a several hour standoff, they breached the door of the jail with dynamite and recovered the stolen ballot boxes. No civilians were charged with crimes, and political order in McMinn County was soon restored.

The current attack on gun rights is far from complete, but we've made it through a few major hurdles so far. Americans who value their civil rights had victorious smiles on their faces as the administration pouted like petulant children over the failure of their sweeping gun control package in the Democrat-led U.S. Senate in April 2013.

Aussies understand how gun control legislation violates human rights. Former Prime Minister John Howard's efforts placed huge burdens on self-defense, hunting and competitive shooting. Semi-auto centerfire guns are now heavily restricted to law enforcement, and those with a 'genuine need ' to own such weapons.

Handguns and air pistols require a person serve a 12-month probationary period, during which time the individual must display competency at an approved firearms training facility before applying for a pistol permit. The permit holder must then regularly pass yearly qualifications.

As Australian gun rights activist Steve Lee says in his music video, "Who Gave You the Right," "gun control is cleverly disguised as being about guns, but really it's about government control. '

After the storm drowned the city of New Orleans, looters weren't the"http://www.gunsandammo.com/2012/03/13/how-to-prepare-your-gun-collection-for-disaster/" target="_blank">devastation. Homeowners faced unforgiving National Guard and law enforcement officers from all over the country, who invaded the New Orleans area with orders to confiscate guns. Suddenly, residents became criminals in their own homes, as police went door-to-door seizing guns from innocent people who were simply protecting themselves from looters.

Conveniently for police and government officials, mainstream news stories shifted to the massive relief efforts instead of focusing on how many people's rights were stripped by those in power. Many lives were lost during Hurricane Katrina — but there's no way to count the number of people who perished because their guns were seized and they couldn't defend themselves.

The population of China has lived under oppressive regimes for centuries. From one dynasty to another, China has repeatedly restricted the rights of its people in almost every aspect, including self-defense. The Constitution of the United States clearly protects against the kind of tyranny that exists in China. Without the right to protect one's self from the government, citizens are devalued to the point of peasantry.

In 1989, student-led demonstrations against China's political leadership in Tiananman Square resulted in mass casualties of unarmed citizens. Chinese authorities declared martial law, mobilizing more than 300,000 troops into Beijing as a result. Chinese citizens were unable to protect themselves against their oppressive communist leaders, and thus thousands of people were killed, and many were arrested.

In July 1942, German authorities began ordering SS troops to move the Ghetto's 400,000 or more Jewish inhabitants to the Treblinka killing center. The Jewish prisoners quickly formed a resistance of nearly 750 fighters, armed with pistols and explosives. Although strongly outnumbered, the resistance prolonged a three-day deportation process into a month-long battle. During that time, Jewish people had the chance to fortify bunkers, and some managed to evade capture.

Although German soldiers systematically destroyed the Warsaw Ghetto, the rebellion became the first of many symbolic urban uprisings in German-occupied Europe. The resistance proved that an armed populace could increase its chances of overcoming government oppression.

The application requires a $10 fee in addition to providing the same personal information one would already include on ATF Form 4473 when buying a firearm. By law, the State Police must issue or deny FOID cards within 30 days of application. The Illinois State Police report that nearly 1.5 million Illinoisans hold FOID cards.

Following suit with the methodology of Illinois politics, the FOID process is completely corrupt and broken. Residents report the state cashes their application checks within a week of postmark, but then doesn't issue the card for another three months — or longer.

Illinois politicians are also currently in a legal battle over the right for its citizens to carry concealed weapons. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that Illinois' ban on concealed carry was unconstitutional, but Attorney General Lisa Madigan, Gov. Pat Quinn and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel continue to thumb their noses at the high court. Illinois remains divided between the corrupt Chicago political machine, and the other 90-percent of the state.

In response to the 1996 Dunblane School Massacre — which was eerily similar to what happened in Newtown, Conn. — the Snowdrop Campaign motivated parliament to ban private ownership of handguns capable of firing cartridge-cased ammunition. England's extensive gun control movement following the massacre illustrates how quickly a government can seize the civil rights of its people.

Guns that haven't already been confiscated are required to be licensed and registered — including most air guns. Those with proper licensing may only use firearms for hunting, target shooting or collecting. As a result, self-defense is no longer considered a valid reason for gun ownership in the U.K.