By Matt Agorist
As we reported last week, thanks to the lack of legal protections regarding firearm ownership, authorities in Ukraine have managed to keep their citizens largely disarmed while only arming friends of government officials.
Because it is difficult for the average citizen to obtain a gun, the black market for guns in Ukraine has flourished and the gun control measures in the country have essentially ensured that only state actors and their friends, and the folks willing to break the law — were the only ones with guns.
Now, as Russian troops cross their borders, most Ukrainians are forced to leave their homes and run as many of them are unarmed and defenseless. Seeing this problem — albeit too late — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sought to fix it by arming the citizens … after the fact.
“We will give weapons to anyone who wants to defend the country. Be ready to support Ukraine in the squares of our cities,” he tweeted as the conflict escalated.
“All those who are ready to take up arms, join the ranks of the area defense forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. We simplified procedures. Only your ID is needed. We give weapons to all patriots!” Ukraine’s Armed Forces said in a tweet, following up Zelenskyy.
In a hypocritical twist of irony, the staunchly antigun liberals at Occupy Democrats took to praising the Ukrainian government for arming its citizens, finally realizing that the Second Amendment is not for hunting.
As Ukraine began realizing that their lack of armed citizens presented a national threat, American politicians back home are figuring out how to take guns from its armed populace.
Though the current political climate has made it rather difficult to push for gun control through Congress, Biden is following in Trump’s footsteps and is going to limit your right to self-defense through executive order.
As Americans praise the Ukrainian state for arming citizens, many have no idea their government is trying to disarm them as soon as this summer. Biden’s first EO will criminalize popular pistol braces. As it stands, roughly 40 million Americans use these devices to stabilize their firearms and this EO could turn them into criminals overnight.
The second EO being rammed through by the Biden administration will force citizens to register their “80 percent lowers.” Officially called a “receiver blank” by the ATF, an 80% lower is an unfinished receiver that isn’t considered a firearm until the purchaser finishes it at home. Biden likes to call these “ghost guns” to scare folks, but they are really just modifications for most folks who like to tweak their firearms.
Under this EO, millions of gun owners will also be subject to criminal law overnight.
Neither of the executive orders offer a grandfather clause for people who have legally obtained these tools. If millions of people refuse to go along with the new executive order, or even if they are unaware they were passed, they will be felons instantly.
Despite the fact that these executive orders are unconstitutional, Trump paved the way for this type of gun control through executive power when he banned bump stocks in 2018.
The only way to prevent such a tyrannical order is for states to nullify them. As Mike Maharrey points out for the 10th Amendment Center:
States can nullify these federal rules in practice and effect simply by refusing to participate in their enforcement and implementation. A piece of legislation known as the Second Amendment Preservation Act does just that.
The federal government relies heavily on state cooperation to implement and enforce almost all of its laws, regulations and acts – including gun control. By simply withdrawing this necessary cooperation, states and localities can nullify many federal actions in effect. As noted by the National Governors’ Association during the partial government shutdown of 2013, “states are partners with the federal government on most federal programs.”
Many states have already started this process. As TFTP has reported, in more than a dozen states, lawmakers proposed or passed similar bills to nullify federal attacks on gun rights. In Alabama, Arkansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Wyoming, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, Ohio, West Virginia and Iowa bills have been proposed or passed to nullify federal gun laws. In Texas, the governor has called for the state to become a Second Amendment sanctuary.
In Arizona, the Senate proposed a bill to sue officers who take guns from citizens at the request of federal agents. According to the legislation, officers who comply with gun control measures could also face charges.
In Utah, the house passes a similar measure, forbidding officers employed in the state to enforce federal gun control laws.
Last year, Missouri passed a bill which also bans cops from enforcing any new federal gun laws pushed by the Biden administration. The measure penalizes local police departments if their officers enforce federal gun laws and they would face minimum $50,000 fines for an infraction.
Lawmakers in Charleston, West Virginia passed a bill to end federal encroachment on the right to bear arms. The legislation prohibits a state agency or department from using money or personnel to investigate, interrogate, detain, detect, or aid a federal agency in whole or in part or arrest persons for federal law enforcement purposes.
As TFTP has pointed out time and again, tyranny is defeated when good people choose to disobey bad laws. This is a great start.
