by Skip Coryell
However, we believe that the right to keep and bear arms is a God-given, inalienable right, which is incapable of being surrendered or transferred, regardless of any temporary political power (e.g., the Barry County Gun Board). An inalienable right, by nature, transcends space and time. It cannot be contained within any human law, written or otherwise, because it was endowed to us by our Creator, who is Himself the embodiment of morality and all that is right and good. Furthermore, an inalienable right is one bestowed upon all people, not just one class of citizen, such as retired police officers. This practice is elitist, and endangers the very foundations of liberty. We are all entitled to equal protection under the law.
We believe that demanding proof of adequate need, a policy which is intrinsically subjective and relative, is ludicrous and in violation of the very tenets and principles on which our country was founded. The 10 amendments that comprise the Bill of Rights were never intended by our founding fathers to require “proof of adequate need.” Otherwise, we would be required to demonstrate adequate need before practicing other constitutionally guaranteed rights, such as freedom of religion or freedom of speech. One only has to read “The Federalist Papers” or the personal correspondence of people like Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and Alexander Hamilton in order to glean the true intent of the Bill of Rights. Imagine the Hastings Banner being shut down by the government, because they could not demonstrate sufficient need to publish their news and editorials. Or imagine a church being closed by the county because they can survive without worshipping God. The Bill of Rights was written to prevent an ever-intrusive government from encroaching on the personal rights of its citizens. Ironically enough, the Bill of Rights was written to protect citizens from their own government. The founding fathers knew human nature, and guaranteed us this protection against a corrupt, totalitarian government. For this principle they shed their blood, fought, and died. We are forever in their debt, and we thank them.
However, the Barry County Gun Board may argue that they are merely protecting honest, law-abiding citizens from themselves and from one other, but this, too, is ludicrous and fundamentally flawed for the following reason: “An honest- law-abiding citizen does not need protection from another honest, law-abiding citizen.” By definition, honest, law-abiding citizens do not commit crimes. However, we do need protection from criminals because, by definition, criminals are those who are dishonest and do not abide by the law. Law enforcement agencies, however well-intentioned, cannot and should not be everywhere, lest we end up with a police state.
The present Gun Board policy leaves responsible, law-abiding citizens to fend for themselves, primarily defenseless, like sheep without a shepherd, simply waiting passively for the wolves. But we are no longer content to passively chew our cuds and wait for the wolves, hoping above hope that our wives and children do not become victims. Because of this, we will use all legal and political means to persuade you to begin issuing general CCW permits to honest, responsible and well-trained, law-abiding citizens who wish to carry concealed weapons for personal and family defense. We petition the Gun Board to establish written guidelines and requirements, thereby making general CCW permits attainable for personal and family protection.
In conclusion, let us say that while this transition may seem uncomfortable; it is a change that must occur if we are to protect our families and friends. However, we pledge to make this transition as quick and painless as possible for all parties concerned. We assure you that our differences are purely philosophical, and that nothing personal is intended by our words or actions.
Having said that, let me assure you that our first desire is to work with you as fellow citizens, countrymen and public servants to achieve these goals. We greatly look forward to working with you as we endeavor to make Barry County a safer place to live for our families and friends.
Best wishes and kind regards,
Skip Coryell Director, SW Michigan
Ted Nugent United Sportsmen of America
I recall being surprised that they didn’t respond to my letter. That was naïve of me. In retrospect, I’ve learned that people of unquestioned power do not easily surrender it. There is only one thing which people of power respond to: superior power. And there is only one thing that people of power want: more power. So, together (B-SAFR and TNUSA) threatened to sue the county for violating the Open Meetings Act, and within three months the county gun board meetings were moved to the courthouse and made open to the public. After that, we videotaped every meeting until our CCW bill was signed into law. In the end, words mean little, because words alone seldom get the job done. Words, backed up only by inaction and cowardice, will always ring empty and hollow. It is the words of a patriot, backed up by action and boldness, that will always win the day. I have learned that even the most powerful king can be deposed by the lowliest group of peasants if they possess sufficient courage and resilience. (Good timing and brains help too.)
Eventually, we got what we wanted. Not because we were smarter or stronger, but because we didn’t quit. The passage of the Michigan shall-issue CCW law was a textbook example of “we the people” in action. Ordinary Americans united. We took names. We kicked ass. We took America back. Samuel Adams rolled over and smiled in his grave, and toasted to our boldness.
We’ve seen time and again how inalienable rights have been gradually eroded away like wind on rock, one grain at a time, until, they were gone. Ask our friends the Brits, the Canooks, and the Aussies. Most of their Second Amendment rights are now gone; only to return after decades of sweat or perhaps even the shedding of blood. What a shame. They are finding out, too late, that it’s easier to defend that which you already have, than to regain that which you’ve lost.
In my second novel, the world’s first geopolitical redneck thriller, titled “We Hold These Truths”, I give a good example of grassroots activism. In this chapter, Lance Stuart is giving a speech at a local Second Amendment rally. But in real life, I had written this speech to commemorate Independence Day several years ago. I sent it in to Neal Dionne, who then read it on the air during his afternoon radio talk show on WOOD AM 1300 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. But I loved the speech so much, that I adapted it to be in my novel. It was a perfect fit.
I have included the speech below, and I hope that it inspires you to stand up and fight for your Second Amendment rights. Don’t be a wimp! Stand up and fight!
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”
I often wonder what Thomas Jefferson would say about the present course of human events if he were alive today. Would he be alarmed at the present trend towards liberalism and big-government control? Would Thomas Jefferson subscribe to the popular doctrine of political correctness, or would he rail against it? I think Thomas Jefferson would tilt his head to one side and ask, “What part of self-evident didn’t you understand?”
The Declaration of Independence was based primarily on the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God. Laws of Nature, are intrinsically Laws of God, our Creator, higher laws, laws which when broken set off a chain of natural events and consequences which cannot be halted or harnessed regardless of what artificial law a man-made legislature may institute via a temporary government. The Declaration of Independence, indeed our entire American revolution, was a natural consequence of a government repeatedly breaking the laws of God and Nature. Many people today do not understand that the sole purpose of government is to protect these higher laws, and when government serves no longer as our protector, then they have become our oppressor and thereby a threat to our families and the liberty on which this great nation was founded.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident” Where did we lose our way, America? What part of self-evident don’t we understand? How did the moral compass of our great nation become so skewed? We are indeed backwards: North has become
South, and South has become North. The Bill of Rights was not written to protect government from the people, but rather, to protect the people from government, from the natural consequences of a corrupt government, wielding entirely too much power, in a way which perpetuates their downward spiral into graft and corruption.
There is a verse in the Bible which reads: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter”. How did we get here America? When did we turn our backs on the precepts and common sense on which this country was founded? As a country, we have collectively lost our way, and nothing short of a total about face can save us.
Our founding fathers recognized self-evident truth for what it was, and because of this, they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. But with great Truth comes great responsibility, and our founding fathers were willing to die to preserve the natural laws of God and Nature. Indeed many of them made the supreme sacrifice for each and every one of us, and their blood cries out to us now from the ground they fought to free! Their blood cries out to every politically correct, brain-dead American who takes his freedom for granted, and who passively accepts without question the anti-American sentiment so prevalent in our society. Their blood cries out to us in outrage! “Did I die in vain! I gave my life, my fortune, my sacred honor so that you and your family could be free!”
“Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it!”
What part of this do we not understand? Our duty is clear. Parts of our government have become greedy, corrupt and repressive. “Destructive of these ends, . . . .” Our duty is clear! We must alter our government - now, while we still have the liberty to do so. We must get out and campaign and vote. We must write and talk and speak our minds! We must unite as Americans who love our country and are willing to work and live and die as did our forefathers. Now is the time to act! Do not be afraid of what people may think about you. Ours is not a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power! I implore you; I exhort you to press onward; to seize the day and all it holds while you still can!
Presently, there are those in our government who seek to strip away our rights and subjugate us one tiny piece at a time. But there is one right that we must not lose, because it is the gatekeeper of liberty. It is nothing more than the right to self defense; the right to hold our government accountable; a self-evident right, given to us by God. In short, the one right that protects all others. It is of course, the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States: the right to keep and bear arms. Our liberties, acknowledged by the Bill of Rights, stand side by side, lined up like dominoes, and when one falls, so do they all. And we are enslaved!
I urge you now, as we stand in the shadowy dusk of our independence, to remember and ponder the blood of our ancestors, the blood of those who fought and died so that we might live free. Do not cheapen its memory with apathy. Do not devalue its worth with passivity. Our founding fathers may have lived long ago, but there are natural powers which bind us together even beyond death, powers which transcend space and time, spiritual powers of the heart and soul of humanity. This bond cannot be denied or stripped from us. It is the irrevocable law of God and Nature. It is not a physical bond. It is a spiritual bond. A bond of the deepest, strongest kind - a bond of unseen blood!”
And in the immortal words of Forest Gump:
“I guess that’s all I got to say about that.”
“There are only two kinds of people that understand Marines: Marines and those who have met them in battle. Everyone else has a second-hand opinion.”
— Unknown —
Never Give Up!
Bite Their Legs Off!
On October 19th, 1950, over 120,000 screaming Chinese troops poured across the Yaloo River into North Korea. They attacked the 40,000 United Nations troops on all sides. Most of the UN troops were able to retreat south, but elements of the United States Marine Corps were trapped in the frozen Chosin Reservoir. For several weeks, the frostbitten and beleaguered Marines stood their ground, covering the retreat of the other UN forces, until they were ordered by General MacArthur to fight their way out.
It was during this battle, at an airstrip in Koto-ri, that the commanding officer of the 7th Marines, Lewis (Chesty) Puller was reputed to have summed up the situation like this:
“They’re on our right; they’re on our left; they’re in front of us; they’re behind us. They can’t get away now!”
I like that optimism. I can live with that. By the time it was all over, the Chinese had retaken North Korea, but it was at a tremendous price. In military terminology, the battle was classified as a “pyrrhic” victory for the Chinese.
The word “pyrrhic” originated from the Battle of Asculum in 279BC and in redneck terms simply means, “We won the battle, but most of us are dead.” Thanks to the valiant stand of the 1st Marine Division at Chosin, the victory for the Chinese was won at too high a cost, and they were forced to halt their advance. After the smoke cleared, 27,500 soldiers lay dead: 25,000 of them were Chinese.
What does this have to do with CCW holders? I spent six years in the Marine Corps, and that was enough to change me forever. Thank God they only had to change me once.
“Once a Marine, always a Marine!”
— Master Sergeant Paul Woyshner —
When I’m attacked, I don’t retreat. I don’t give up. I counterattack! The best defense is a good offense. I guess I’m suffering from “Jarhead Syndrome”: a terminal disease that leaves its victims stubborn, indomitable, and unyielding. When it comes to innocent civilians protecting themselves against bad guys, I wish we could all suffer from Jarhead Syndrome, at least until the fight is over and the criminal scum are hauled away on gurneys.
Florida recently passed the nation’s first “Stand Your Ground” legislation. In simple terms, this means that we don’t have to run from the bad guys anymore. We can stand our ground and fight to protect ourselves and our families. What kind of twisted, warped society mandates that its citizens must run from rapists, murderers, and thieves (i.e., the wretched refuse of the Earth) or face possible criminal and civil prosecution? Now I’m just a greasy, old, redneck, bowhunting, Marine, but that just “don’t make no sense to me”.
And I suspect that a lot of people are feeling the same way, because the “Stand Your Ground” legislation is sweeping the nation like a cleansing wave, washing away fear, and infusing Americans with courage and the will to fight back against rampant crime. Just as CCW shall-issue laws have taken over the country, so shall “Stand Your Ground”. Most people don’t want to be quivering cowards; that’s not freedom! That’s bondage! It’s time for the criminals to fear and flee.
But the main point I want to get across in this chapter is this: “Once you decide to fight, you must do anything you can to win.” Never give up, never give in, fight until the bad guy retreats or drops to the ground.
In my NRA classes, I’m not allowed to say “Shoot to kill!” But that’s a political concern, brought about by the reality that there are lily-livered, soft-hearted, milk-toast wussies out there who would prefer that you die rather than defend yourself with deadly force.
Instead, we say: “Shoot to stop the threat.” No matter what you call it, if you repeatedly double-tap the center of exposed mass I guarantee you the threat will stop. Bottom line is this: We stop the deadly threat by causing massive tissue damage and blood loss to our attacker. If they turn and run, great! It saves us all the price of expensive premium self defense ammo. If they choose to stand and fight, well, I can live with that too. But once I decide to fight, my attitude has to be that of a United States Marine: “I will never lose. I will never retreat. I will win!”
I love the Marine Corps. They make me feel safe. And I especially love the way they speak their mind, despite the rash of political correctness infecting our nation. Because I am a Marine, I und
erstand the way we think. But most people don’t have that luxury.
“There are only two kinds of people that understand Marines: Marines and those who have met them in battle. Everyone else has a second-hand opinion.”
— Unknown —
Make your attacker know you firsthand. Think like a Marine. Fight like a Marine. Never give up. Fight until one of you drops. Your family and all of society are depending on you.
The other day I was in a mood for a goofy movie, so I popped in “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”. In the best comedy, there is always an element of truth. I was impressed by the Black Knight, who stood his ground and fought against King Arthur. A summary of the battle ensues below: