People On Watch Lists Should Not Be Banned From Buying Guns

By Ron Paul
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Sadly, I don't see much to be gained from President Obama's speech from last night on gun control and ISIS. We're now apparently involved in a war that both Republicans and Democrats don't see and end to. Perpetual war is a sure-fire prescription for government to continue to erode and take away our liberties.

The major liberty that President Obama attacked last night is a person's right to defend himself with a gun. The President was slightly deceitful when he said the following words: "What can be the argument for allowing a terrorist suspect to buy a semi-automatic weapon?" He argued that a person on a no-fly list should be banned from buying a gun.

However, just think of all the errors that are on the government's no-fly list. There aren't just a couple of dozen mistakes, but probably thousands of people that are erroneously on the list. Ironically, there are a significant number of employees from the Department of Homeland Security that are on the no-fly list. That shows the stupidity of the argument right there.

As a matter of fact, in 2007 the government admitted that there were 10,000 names that were on the no-fly list that didn't belong there. A bureaucrat can, for political reasons, add people to the no-fly list. Political opponents could be added to the list and have their second amendment rights abolished in one fell swoop if President Obama were to get his way on this issue. Keep in mind that even though people are wrongly put on the list, they have a very difficult time getting their names off of it.

Unfortunately, at the root of the problem, there is still no consensus to change our foreign policy to one of non-interventionism and peace. If you want to control guns, then control the military guns that have killed so many people who have not attacked us. We should be minding our own business, defending this country, and defending our liberties here at home.

The greatest threat to us right now is the undermining of our liberties. That threat is domestic, and it's much greater than any entity that seeks to come into this country to attack us.

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