First, I’d like to address your comment about implications about violent actions even though it was not directed at me. Too many seem to get a gleam in their eye when talk turns to things like “revolution” or “the blood of patriots” and some such. I abhor the very thought. My stance on this was and always will be we have no need to do any such thing. In fact I feel simple protests should be beneath us as citizens. This does not mean we can or should never make our opinions known. In fact we must be outspoken whenever we feel the need, but “protests”? No. Later on when I discuss the 2A Sanctuary Movement, you’ll see what I mean more clearly. (I hope.)
There seems to be a disconnect on how our constitution lays down the foundation for citizens to govern ourselves. This foundation outlines the manner in which we self-governing citizens select from among ourselves those who represent us and how these representatives are divided according to population (House) and geography (Senate). House representation is further delineated geographically via districts to provide somewhat even representation among the populace.
Our government was intended to be limited in scope and authority. Among those limitations were certain protections of individual citizens’ rights as originally enumerated in collection of amendments known as the Bill of Rights, and later expanded. Our Virginia Constitution boasts a similar concept and construction with some specific differences not discussed here.
Nowhere in either constitution does the word “democracy” appear. The term democracy refers to rule by majority vote. While we do have certain democratic votes in our land, we are not a democracy as our constitution protects us from being ruled by a majority.
Nor does either constitution require 100% vote to pass legislation. This would be unworkable as we all know. Thus there will always be some legislation passed – most legislation in fact – that does not enjoy 100% agreement. In other words – nearly every law, resolution, or other proclamation passed by any authoritative body in this nation will have some dissent. Thus, simply because “I didn’t vote for it” doesn’t make any legislation unconstitutional. Such a concept is ludicrous at best.
Unfortunately we have laws passed that exceed constitutional limitations or attempt to overrule enumerated rights and are inherently unconstitutional. However such laws are not automatically deemed as such. I believe the Supreme Court has ruled legislation passed carries an “assumption of constitutionality” (my wording) or some such. On the face, this makes certain sense, otherwise simply rejecting any law on the basis that “it is unconstitutional” would again be unworkable. However we have no safeguards in place to challenge bad legislation or bad actions by those acting on bad legislation. The first test of the NFA is testimony to this. This law was deemed unconstitutional by a lower court. The ruling was challenged in the Supreme Court. However the defendants had no money to pay for legal representation. The defense lawyers could not or would not travel across more than half the country to D.C. to defend the case and thus only the government’s side was presented. They prevailed as there was no counterargument presented. Nor was any other constitutional issues surrounding this terrible, terrible legislation introduced in court For similar and other reasons, we are saddled with many SCOTUS rulings that are just plain wrong. One of these was recently famously overturned – Roe vs Wade – when our highest court finally ruled the federal government has no constitutional authority here.
Hence, we citizens are saddled with the prospect of living with bad laws, often unconstitutional to boot. As those poor saps who were wrongfully charged with such as well as others who simply do not have the financial means or the will to challenge them in court, or citizens like ourselves who may have a will but lack the means, we are somewhat stuck until somebody comes along who does have the means and the fortitude to endure the long process of challenging such actions.
What can we do? We can first take some time to educate ourselves make a commitment to work together to force some changes. Remember the Second Amendment Sanctuary moment? Here in Virginia the power of us citizens shone through. County after county was more or less forced to pass a resolution declaring that entity a Second Amendment Sanctuary. (It was more than just counties but close enough) This is was in direct response to the actions of the gun control freaks in Richmond who were rabid with their new power. Sure they laughed at our response but it was a very nervous laugh, much like someone whistling their way through a graveyard. Had Covid fever (not the virus but the panic) swept through our nation, we may have seen a far more significant groundswell.
What this movement demonstrated to me was how effective we citizens can be in influencing our elected representatives. While citizens filled legislative chambers during those days, the optics are deceiving as the actual percentage of citizens participating was actually quite small. My point here is, it wouldn’t take massive turnouts to affect change. (I think John McGuire ousted Bob Good by less than 50 primary votes.)
Most legislative sessions are nearly devoid of citizen participation. Only a small percentage of gun owners ever vote. The selection process of those who represent us is abysmal. Ask most anyone “in the know” how to run for a major seat in congress or a state election. They will tell you to run for local office first – school board, town board, etc. and then move up. In other words, the only real qualification to run for a major office is a proven record of getting elected to office.
Currently I am embroiled in issues with Virginia’s Republican Party. It is a ridiculous situation, one I should not have to be involved in. (I involved myself by choice per my sense conscience and duty.) I have been an official “member” of the Republican Party of Virginia for just a few short months. Note here, the local members are good and decent people, it is the upper leadership where I have issues. They, the upper echelons of leadership, have blatantly overstepped their authority while failing to address glaring issues within the party. Along with this, I’ve become aware of what I feel is some gross misdirection. Bluntly put: our local unit is more or less entirely focused on nominating and electing representatives. There is nothing inherently wrong with this but nobody here is holding any of our elected officials accountable to any extent. Even our state delegate who attends every meeting is rarely questioned on what is happening in Richmond.
We need to do better here, and I’m not talking about a “democrat vs republican” thing. I’m talking about citizens taking an interest in the workings of our government with an eye to holding them accountable for their actions and decisions. I’m talking about communication. We need to be aware of what is going on and also be on the lookout for strong citizens who might be willing to serve a term or two in an office rather than nurturing career politicians who inevitably become insulated from those they supposedly represent.
As a solution, for starters, we could begin to get together in small groups. It might be possible to form a subgroup among one or more larger groups already meeting – such as within a church body or a civic group such as a VFW club. Here’s an idea – local group meetings among VCDL members with an eye fomenting our interests. I know VCDL leadership is adamant about focusing on our 2A rights but, personally, I feel losing sight of the larger scope has hurt us in the 2A arena. Better, I’d say to expand to the concept of a simple divide – liberty vs tyranny. In other words EVERY law that limits liberty should be seen as a threat to our 2A rights.
Those things I feel we need to communicate about include budgets (always follow the money), agendas – those things brought before any body, actions of said bodies, how the representative of said group voted or plans to vote and why, upcoming seats and prospects for filling them.
Per this last item, I’ll note that our county will vote on some school board members next year at the very least. Our party has not so much as mentioned this, much less discussed what, if anything, we should be considering. I also know we had a report from a county board supervisor who informed us that most of the county budget is earmarked for the schools. And I know for a fact that MY representative is hell bent to increase the school budget by as much as possible. IMO, it would be better to focus on getting better results from what we are currently spending. I’ve never felt throwing money at a problem constituted an effective solution.
In conclusion I appreciate the opportunity to discuss these things with you. Please understand, I am a nobody. I am simply a common citizen with no greater authority than any other. I do not and can not pretend to be otherwise.