Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Facing Up To The Consequences

A Missouri state legislature introduces a novel idea:

A Missouri lawmaker is proposing to send colleagues to prison for introducing gun control legislation — a plan that even its sponsor acknowledges has no chance of passage but nonetheless highlights the increasingly strident tone of gun measures in Missouri’s generally pro-gun Legislature.

Rep. Mike Leara said Tuesday that he considers his bill a statement of principle. It would make lawmakers guilty of a felony punishable by up to four years in prison if they introduce legislation restricting gun rights.

“I have no illusions about the bill making it through the legislative process, but I want it to be clear that the Missouri House will stand in defense of the people’s constitutional right to keep and bear arms,” Leara, a Republican from suburban St. Louis, said in a written statement. He declined further comment.

Why stop with anti-gun laws?  Why not expand it to all frivolous or illegal legislation that is passed by any local, state, or federal official, be they elected, appointed, or hired into some sort of government position.  Why stop with legislation, but also go with executive orders, judicial pronouncements, or bureaucratic mandates?

The main problem with representative democracy is that there are no consequences for the actions of our “representatives” if they misbehave in some fashion or another.  From judges who constantly change and twist the very laws of nature itself in order to fit their lofty ideals to legislatures who create laws simply to gain a favorable voting bloc to executives who execute blatantly illegal orders, we see this problem all the time.

One of the reasons I view government as optional is because of its inherent monopoly on coercive force.  This has allowed the official who operate the system to manipulate it to their own ends without suffering any of the consequences that you or I would face should we commit similar actions on our own.

This is why I inherently distrust the actions of any State official at any level because I know that this is a person who could outright lie and never suffer the consequences for it.

It is high time that freedom-lovers truly consider the real value of freedom.  That true freedom means facing the consequences of your actions, for good or ill, and that all the government really does is shield a select group of favored people from said consequences.

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