Hardly a day goes by anymore that we don’t hear about nationalist Republicans working together with like-minded socialist Democrats on ways to leverage coronavirus hysteria into an opportunity to create a bigger, more tyrannical government.
Over the past two weeks alone, Washington has created government-mandated paid family leave and sick leave programs to strengthen the so-called “safety net” by guaranteeing basic “social benefits” — a strategy some are referring to as “disaster socialism.” With the pandemic “disaster” as cover, key parts of the bipartisan socialist agenda have become law in the name of “keeping us safe.”
The threat to liberty has been just as serious on the state and local levels, if not more so.
Governors across the country have flexed their police state-lite muscles, issuing stay-at-home orders to arbitrarily shut down businesses and threatening “violators” with fines and/or jail. Ironically, these threats of punishment are being made at the same time many states are emptying their jails and choosing not to make arrests for so-called “minor” crimes in order to fight the coronavirus.
Rob your neighbor? Get a slap on the wrist. Go to church? The police and/or National Guard will shut you down and haul you off.
As a result of the economic uncertainty and danger being created by shutting down the economy and essentially placing almost everyone under house arrest, gun and ammunition sales have been climbing, which brings us to another target of tyrannical governments everywhere — gun rights.
A recent example comes to us from Philadelphia, where a permit is required to carry a gun or to transport one in a vehicle. And, unlike other parts of the country, the license is issued by the chief of police instead of the county sheriff.
The Philadelphia Police Department — along with sheriff’s offices in seven Pennsylvania counties so far — has shut down its gun-permits unit for an undermined length of time. Carrying without a permit is a third-degree felony, and even though Philadelphia police are delaying arrests for “minor” crimes — narcotics, theft, burglary, prostitution — officers will continue to arrest anyone carrying a firearm without a permit.
Kim Stolfer, president of Firearms Owners Against Crime based in southwestern Pennsylvania, believes that ceasing to issue permits violates the state constitution and law. “It’s illegal.There’s no provision in the law allowing it,” he said, and added “If you can’t get a license to carry, you essentially have no right to defend yourself.”
Gun shops in the state have been busy amid coronavirus hysteria but have been ordered to shut down along with other types of businesses that aren’t “life-sustaining” under an executive order issued by pro-gun control Gov. Tom Wolf. Lawyers — they also fall under the that category — have filed a petition with the state Supreme Court to block the order.
There have been many threats to liberty throughout the history of America from forces without. However, coronavirus hysteria is a greater threat because it comes from within.
David Leach is the owner of the Strident Conservative. He holds people of every political stripe accountable and promotes conservative principles over political parties.
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