From: Gary Hunt at the Outpost of Freedom
The Battle at Lexington, California
Gary Hunt,
Outpost of FreedomNovember 14, 1999
The Battle at Lexington, California
Gary Hunt,
Outpost of FreedomNovember 14, 1999
Return to Outpost of Freedom - TodayAlthough California has no provision in its Constitution which would secure the right of the people to keep and bear arms, this right is inherent in all of the states of the Union. It can be no other way.
The established government of California, however, has seen fit to exercise its arbitrary administrative rules to deny the Citizens of the California Republic this inherent right.
In 1989, the State Legislature enacted the Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Control Act of 1989. The Act made illegal dozens of types of weapons that were, until that time, perfectly legal. Initially, the State Attorney General ruled that simply registering certain firearms would be sufficient. Later, through some reinterpretation, it was determined that those who had registered their firearms would, now, have to turn them in – or become felons.
The law requires that if you own any of the listed rifles, you must do one of the following by January 1, 2000:
Destroy the rifle
Surrender the rifle to a law enforcement agency
Sell the rifle to a licensed California "assault weapon" dealer
Dispose of the rifle out of stateNow, it must be remembered that these rifles may well have been purchased, legally, in California. Others were brought into the state with written permission/consent, by conscientious gun owners who had contacted the Attorney General’s office to assure that they would not be violating the law if they brought the rifles into the State.
Not unlike the arms stored in Concord, Massachusetts Bay Colony, back in 1775, the arms began as legal and became illegal. In both cases, it was fear by the government that their nullification of rights of Citizens might lead to an undesirable reaction.
Now, some will argue, as the government does, that the safety of the Citizenry is the primary concern of the government -- that the enactment of such laws is only to protect us. But, let’s look, realistically, at how the government has ‘attacked’ the problem of criminal use of, not only ‘assault’ weapons, but weapons, in general. In 1993, a Church in Waco, Texas was invaded by nearly one hundred federal ‘firearms’ agents because the people inside might have weapons which had not been declared for taxes. Millions of dollars were spent on the investigation, though the undercover agents were unable to testify that ‘illegal’ weapons were in the possession of the Church members. Likewise, the evidence at the eventual trial of the survivors did not demonstrate that these ‘illegal’ weapons existed.
Meanwhile, during nearly every riot in Los Angeles, assault weapons are carried openly on the streets. In the off-season (no riots occurring), drive by shootings are a regular occurrence, and ‘assault’ weapons are the gun of choice. Neither the BATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms), the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Office nor the California Highway Patrol (State Police) have ever attempted to confiscate these weapons – which are, daily, killing people on the streets.
Now, the peaceful, law abiding citizen is being made to suffer, or become a criminal, should he not comply with the removal of the only protection he may have against the lawlessness that is NOT being addressed by the law enforcers.
The solution to this problem, which is finding root in more and more states, may have been taught to us by the same government that now attempts to deny this fundamental right. Is it possible that the law enforcement officers of California may, soon, emulate the British Troops of Colonial America? Is Governor Gray Davis going to play the part of General Gage, and Attorney General Bill Lockyer the role of Major Pitcairn?
If so, who shall play Captain John Parker and the others who stood, defiant, against the forces of the government which looked down its nose, with contempt, at the people?
If the people of California still possess the spirit that made this nation great, then there will be a number who will gather together, New Years Eve, and announce to the World that Lexington exists, now, in California. They will gather, together, with arms, in a location known well to the rest of the Patriot Community. They should maintain communication, and, should the British, or anyone else, attempt to seize their weapons, let forth a call to all Patriots that the world must be, one more time, turned upside down.
Some of those who would stand against the forces of unchecked government will join the ranks of Ensign Robert Munroe, Jonas Parker, Samuel Hadley, John Brown, Isaac Muzzey, Caleb Harrington, Jonathon Harrington, Jr., Jebediah Munroe, John Raymond and Nathaniel Wyman. These men had taken an oath, "We Trust in God that should the state of our affairs require it, we shall be ready to sacrifice our estates and everything dear in life, yea, and life itself, in support of the common cause." Whether they ever contemplated that they would be the first to die in defense of the Liberty of the colonies, or not, can only be speculated. To them however, the willingness to stand, defiant, was more important than their fear of death.
Should the necessity of Lexington occur, as it did so many years ago, those who stand firm against those who would deny us the fundamental right to keep and bear arms, it shall also necessitate the intervention of ALL that believe as those first defenders. Those who survive the first few hours of combat can rest assured that an army of thousands would mobilize, immediately, and move to their defense. For, surely, if confiscation of firearms begins in California, it must, also, be stopped in California, or it will spread throughout the land. Not one who calls himself a Patriot could dispute his responsibility to deny a success to the usurpers of our Liberty.