#SecondAmendment #USConstitution #FederalAgents #AgentsInTheStreets #Resist #ResisWithDiscipline
Proponents of a strong Second Amendment to the Constitution have defended legal gun owners’ rights to protect their homes from invasion.
When masked federal agents patrolling the streets of cities are given carte blanche to knock down doors without judicial warrants, potential tragedy could be looming.
If federal agents kick down the door of a legal gun owner, by mistake or otherwise, and that gun owner chooses to defend himself or herself from masked intruders, the outcome could be something no one wants.
Given that scenario, on whose side would the staunch defenders of the Second Amendment be?
Intrusions without judicial warrants are illegal. Homeowners protecting their turf is legal in most places.
In fact, one of the arguments for a strong Second Amendment is allowing people the right to protect themselves from an oppressive government..
That scenario could be upon us.
When Alex Pretti was killed in Minneapolis by federal agents, he was a legal gun owner permitted to carry. Federal officials say that the weapon on his person was a threat, and that no one should bring weapons to a protest. (He didn’t use his weapon and was disarmed before he was shot, videos show.) Kyle Rittenhouse brought a long gun to a Black Lives Matter protest. Two people were killed. He was acquitted and celebrated by the pro-Second Amendment folks.
Rioters at the Jan. 6, 2021, protests in Washington, D.C., also had guns, reports say. They were pardoned.
The Second Amendment is enshrined in the Constitution. So are protections against illegal searches and seizures.
What is occurring on U.S. city streets is NOT law enforcement. It is the opposite of law enforcement. These agents are actually arresting people at courthouses who are complying with the law.
Law enforcement follows the Constitution. Those doing law enforcement always properly identify themselves. They follow the procedures enshrined in the Constitution that govern how they should conduct themselves.
Those federal agents patrolling city streets today cannot be given immunity by executive order. If THEY break the law, someone, someday will prosecute them.
Those protesting the actions of federal agents on their streets have the constitutional right to assemble and state their opposition in non-violent ways.
Federal agents do not have the right to harm these people for peacefully protesting the agents’ behavior.
Government officials themselves, many far away from the action, should not be describing altercations in the streets without proper investigation. In fact, publicly available evidence very often conflicts with their descriptions.
As government officials create these narratives, they are building a credibility problem for themselves.
No one – hopefully including the highest level federal officials – wants to see violent confrontations of any kind. But, their inaction to stop the confrontations is telling.
But, as they occur almost daily, they raise the specter of what could happen next.
It’s incumbent upon the protesters to remain disciplined. Resist non-violently, despite human temptation to fight back.
Only with this discipline will they get their streets back.
Citizens, businesses and anyone affected by these confrontations should resist with any legal means at their disposal.
The strength and discipline of the people and their institutions is the only way to get the streets, and their lives, back to normal.
Peter