Legislature To Again Consider Constitutional Carry

Once again, Maine will be considering a Constitutional Carry bill. LR-280 is being sponsored by Senator Eric Brakey (R-New Gloucester) and if passed, would legalize carrying a firearm without a permit. This legislation will likely prove controversial, but is a no-brainer if you’re a fan of the law and supporter of the law-abiding citizen.

From a legal standpoint, the Maine Constitution is straight forward.

Article 1, Section 16 clearly states:

Every citizen has a right to keep and bear arms and this right shall never be questioned

For those of you keeping score, that is the right to keep and bear arms without having a state issued card certifying that you are not a criminal, have criminal intent, or are otherwise a suspicious human being. This right to keep and bear arms is not to be questioned. Do you own firearms for self-defense, hunting, target practice, or as a collecting hobby? It’s none of my business, as long as you do not threaten or injure me.

The problem society is likely to run into is gun insecurity. Firearms get a bad image because of violent shootings by guns that fall into the hands of criminals and unstable individuals. The approach of this issue as a firearm policy point as opposed to a mental health issue reflects the true nature of the debate, which is government control.

After all, how many liberals do you see standing up for the Middle Eastern children who are casualty of President Obama’s drones? If your count is “crickets”, you would be correct.

While certainly not suggesting a new Holocaust is on the horizon, it is important to note that in 1938, Adolf Hitler stripped all jews of firearm ownership rights. Is anyone going to suggest that Hitler was merely attempting to protect the Jewish children from the Wild West violence their gun owning parents and neighbors perpetuated?

Guns aren’t evil. It is not the fault of a gun that it is pointed at a living being and had its triggered squeezed. A gun has no conscience or artificial intelligence. It is instead the human being utilizing the weapon that makes the decision to raise aim at another human being and pull the trigger. This reflects a serious mental issue by being comfortable with and even supportive of murder.

Thus, logically, gun violence is not a firearms issue but rather a mental health issue.

The problem with criminalizing gun ownership and creating restrictions on law-abiding citizens is that we are actually disciplining people for following the law. Those who intend on breaking the law do not intend on following other laws, including firearms regulations. Why are we punishing people who are good citizens that uphold the law and order of society?

It is logic to assume that those who oppose Constitutional Carry, a legal and logical no-brainer, believe that the common citizen is a terrorist criminal who is intending on murdering their fellow human being. Constitutional carry opponents believe that criminals are more respectable people, by enabling their advantage by putting everyday Mainers at a disadvantage.

Think carefully, Augusta. Either stand by the safety of everyday Mainers and co-sponsor Senator Brakey’s legislation, or oppose it and endorse criminal advantage across the state.

Chris Dixon

About Chris Dixon

Chris Dixon is a libertarian-leaning writer and managing editor for The Liberty Conservative. In addition to his political writing, he also covers baseball for Cleat Geeks and enjoys writing on a number of other topics ranging on Medium.