Debunking Mass Shooting Myths Quickly

Originally published by the Tarheel Libertarian Newsletter, the official newsletter of the Libertarian Party of North Carolina: https://www.lpnc.org/2a_talk?page=1 This article is meant as a sort of "pocket guide" for mass shooting discussions. As with any discussion worth having, this is one full of minute details, individual data points that require contextual understanding, and an incredible degree of nuance. With the citations, examples, and discussion in this article I hope to provide easily memorized and transferable data for casual conversations, since that is where most of these discussion happen. It is a difficult thing to expect any one person to have a wide and deep understanding of something as complex as "mass shootings...  Read More

Shotguns are for Birds, Not Bad Guys

Originally published by the Tarheel Libertarian Newsletter, the official newsletter of the Libertarian Party of North Carolina: https://www.lpnc.org/2a_talk?page=1 "Fire two blasts outside the house." "You don't need an AR-15. It's harder to aim, it's harder to use, and in fact you don't need 30 rounds to protect yourself. Buy a shotgun." Look, ordinarily I would type a long-winded response about the inferiority of the shotgun as a platform. In the modern era, I need only cite Joe Biden's endorsement of the shotgun and condemnation of the AR-15 and that should be argument enough for all of us to dispense with the shotgun and install the AR-15 as the preeminent home defense tool. Since I have you here anyway, I may as well make a dec...  Read More

You Have a Duty to be Well Regulated

Originally published by the Tarheel Libertarian Newsletter, the official newsletter of the Libertarian Party of North Carolina: https://www.lpnc.org/2a_talk?page=1 In light of Independence Day and my reflection on those who rose up in defiance of tyranny, today we will discuss the duty bestowed on us by the 2nd Amendment. Yes, America is perhaps the greatest experiment in self-governance, individualism, and liberty ever, but the reputation of the United States is not something us modern Americans should live off of, but something we should live up to. Being an American should be an injunction to live a life of service and responsibility. Americanism should not be a matter of geography, ethnicity, race, religion, or political affiliat...  Read More

Cars Are Not Guns - Analysis of a Bad Analogy

Originally published by the Tarheel Libertarian Newsletter, the official newsletter of the Libertarian Party of North Carolina: https://www.lpnc.org/2a_talk?page=1 Cars kill more people every year than guns! You need a license to drive a car! We register cars! A car is also a weapon! Whether you are pro-gun, anti-gun, or some other prefix related to guns, you have probably heard and used analogies related to cars. I'm not sure why or how this comparison gained popularity, and I admit to using car-related analogies in the past, but we need to put an end to it. In almost every debate or discussion I have, it comes up. Cars and guns share very little in common insofar as their typical usage and the nature of these tools. Even semant...  Read More

The Big Picture Importance of the Second Amendment

Originally published by the Tarheel Libertarian Newsletter, the official newsletter of the Libertarian Party of North Carolina: https://www.lpnc.org/2a_talk?page=1 Very often in debates and discussions around gun laws the focus is the text, relevance, and meaning of the 2nd Amendment. I generally find them fruitless with those ignorant of the history of the Constitution. That said, I recently had the opportunity to read a Salon article suggesting a revision to the 2nd Amendment [editor's note: we are not linking to the article here, as we don't want to give it any extra publicity, but it is called "The Second Amendment is a ludicrous historical antique: Time for it to go" by Kurt Swearingen]. In a later article I will discuss the sug...  Read More

Gun Law Nullification

Originally published by the Tarheel Libertarian Newsletter, the official newsletter of the Libertarian Party of North Carolina: https://www.lpnc.org/2a_talk?page=1 Nullification is an oft-discussed topic amongst Libertarians. The idea a citizenry or smaller government body can declare a larger government body's laws null and void is an appealing one to us. Nullification is a term used often in reference to attempts to undermine or sabotage the enforcement of federal regulations and laws. To better understand the broad topic of nullification, let us look at some recent examples. In the early 2000s, a new term became common in the news vernacular, "sanctuary cities." Though the movement has its roots in the 1980s, much of the activity ...  Read More

Constitutional Carry - What is It, Why We Need It, and What You Can Do About It

Originally published by the Tarheel Libertarian Newsletter, the official newsletter of the Libertarian Party of North Carolina: https://www.lpnc.org/2a_talk?page=1 On January 1, 2023, Alabama enacted its constitutional carry law, signed in March 2022. This is the latest in a string of pro-self-defense actions in both legislatures and judiciaries throughout the U.S. in the last few years. In 2003 just one state, Vermont, had legal constitutional carry. Twenty years later, and 25 states now have it in their laws. Nineteen of those 25 have come into force since 2013. Constitutional carry is essentially the removal of restrictions on concealed or open carrying a firearm. It is a term generally applied to laws which make it legal to carry...  Read More

In Defense of Self-Defense: a Practical Matter

Originally published by the Tarheel Libertarian Newsletter, the official newsletter of the Libertarian Party of North Carolina: https://www.lpnc.org/2a_talk?page=2 Many words have been spent in defense of the 2nd amendment. Those words often focus on philosophical and judicial reasoning. In recent years, those words created strong arguments which led to great strides in our freedom to defend ourselves, such as in the decisions of Heller vs DC eliminating the outright prohibition of owning firearms in the home, or Bruen vs NYSRPA which essentially makes every citizen able to carry a firearm outside the home, through shall-issue permitting. In discussion of Supreme Court cases, congressional action, and executive order, among other mas...  Read More