Declaration to overturn the NY SAFE act of 2013

We the People of New York State, that is, the natural persons lawfully residing within this state, do hereby order and direct the Governor, the Assembly and the Senate to immediately repeal the NY SAFE act of 2013. This is not a request or a demand, but an order and directive, as it is unlawful, null and void, being in direct opposition to the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of  New York Civil Rights - Article 2 - § 4. This is the will of the people, and as you are our duly appointed representatives, you will see to it that our will is carried out.

The RIGHT to keep and bear arms is the RIGHT of all the people.  This RIGHT is not subject to registration. Registration means surrendering a lawful RIGHT in exchange for permission, which may or may not be granted, or can be taken away, at the behest of the magistrate.  This goes beyond infringement or diminishing our RIGHT.  It is direct violation of the very principle upon which this RIGHT was declared in our constitution.  Back in England, only the nobility and chivalry had the right to keep and bear arms. The peasantry had no such rights, but might be awarded the privilege if his lord saw fit.  Our nation was founded upon the principle that We the People are the sovereign kings and queens of this land, that there shall be no peasants, and you duly appointed representatives are charged with the task of carrying out our will.  The principle of the right to keep and bear arms predates the advent of the firearm, let alone the semi-auto type, and this principle does not change with the emergence of new technology. "Shall not be infringed" means that the people shall have access to whatever state-of-the-art technology is available.

The exception in these Unites States of America was in the case of slavery.  All free men had the right to keep and bear arms, but slaves did not. If, today, the people do not have this right, but must ask permission, are we then your slaves?  If the government has the power to force us against our will at the point of a gun, and we can do nothing to defend ourselves, then how are we not your slaves?  And so what do we have here today? A Federal government that uses the latest in high-tech weaponry and surveillance to impose its laws upon us, stockpiles huge supplies of ammunition, arms their agents with ever-more deadlier firearms, while placing ever-heavier restrictions on how we can defend ourselves.  And now the governor and you legislators in New York, instead of defending our state,  go even further to betray us.  Listen here now:  We will not comply. We will not register our firearms, let alone surrender them. We will not be your subjects. You may deem us criminals for doing so, but it is you who have broken the law, and we who defend it.

If you truly want to reduce gun violence like you claim, you will speak with us as equals and we will find solutions that work. But you have demonstrated that these are not your motives. At best, you have demonstrated ignorance of the simple facts:  Tougher gun laws only encourage criminals to victimize defenseless, law-abiding citizens. You gun-control activists are in fact enablers of gun violence and accessories to murder, rape and robbery.  But among you there is an even more sinister plot at work, a plot to exploit the tragedy of gun violence to impose laws intended to disarm the public.

The history of gun control laws is very clear: Registration is always followed by confiscation. Confiscation is always followed by genocide. 262 million people were murdered by their own governments in the last century. If there is one thing that governments are very good at, it is killing people. "Never forget!" you cry about the Holocaust. Yet you forgot that it was made possible by civilian disarmament.  You who sponsored this bill went so far as to include confiscation in your original draft. It does not seem like you are interested in preventing gun violence. Rather, it seems you want a monopoly on it.

There is some talk about an amendment to exempt law enforcement from this bill. This is entirely unacceptable.  Here again, such an exemption would codify into law a caste system.  A RIGHT is not a privilege reserved for government officials.  It would be in direct opposition to the second amendment; the RIGHT of the PEOPLE to keep and bear arms.  The very principle of the Second Amendment is that a well-armed people will not be subject to the whims of a King and his praetorian guard, whether armed by sword, musket, rifle, Glock, tazer, or predator drone.

Let's discuss where all those Yes votes came from. Nearly all from New York City, which has more districts then the rest of the state put together.  A place where it is already nearly impossible to legally acquire a firearm, let alone a handgun.  Yet you still have gun violence.    A place where the majority of the residents are completely ignorant about firearms. Many have never held a real gun or ammo or know anyone who keeps guns, but rather only see the drama on television. Just how qualified are such people to render an informed opinion about gun safety? New York City, a place where, under your Mayor Bloomberg, the people have no rights. A place where there are routine checkpoints, random searches, stop-and frisk, and mass arrests of peaceful demonstrators. The most heavily taxed municipality in the Union, yet still depends on routine issuing of summonses and arrests to meet its financial goals, and has the highest ratio of police-per-civilians to enforce it.  And now you legislators from New York City want to impose your way of life on the rest of the state.   No thanks.  If your constituents want to remain disarmed subjects of His Majesty the Mayor, let them. Since your entire city is already a de facto gun-free zone, you have nothing at stake, how are you qualified to vote on behalf of the rest of the state?   For these reasons We the People of New York State find your votes on this matter to be disqualified, null and void. 

In conclusion, this act can, will and must be repealed. there can be no compromise on this. This law will prove to be a disaster. Violent crime will skyrocket, just as it did in Chicago. Law abiding, tax paying, home-owning New York state residents and business owners are already getting ready to leave. Those who stay may or may not comply. Gun shops may or may not comply with the ridiculous requirements for selling ammo.    Law enforcement may not want to arrest law abiding, hard working citizens for upholding their rights. And any informed jury would surely not convict.  This act will not save one single child.   It will not help catch one single criminal. It will however force an entire population of law-abiding citizens to decide whether to be an outlaw or a slave; to decide if we are ready to use those weapons while we still can.  Do not think we have come together to wave protest signs, say nice words, congratulate ourselves, go home, give up and comply.  We're not complying. We're organizing. We're not registering. We're reloading.  Do you seriously think you can just make up a law and take our our guns? It doesn't work like that.  ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ!  ( Molon Labe! )

February 8th, 2013
Albany, New York