In 2005, President George W Bush signed the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) into law (one of the few good laws that Bush managed to get passed during his two terms in office) as a way of protecting firearms manufacturers from frivolous lawsuits. The PLCAA shields gun manufacturers from lawsuits in situations where the guns in question were legally made and legally sold.
The fact that the PLCAA is even required at all is a grave miscarriage of justice. Holding gun manufacturers accountable, much less legally liable, for the actions of criminals who use guns to commit acts of violence makes about as much sense as holding Wilson Sporting Goods (the owner of Louisville Slugger) accountable/liable for criminals who use baseball bats to commit acts of violence. And more people are murdered every year with a bat than with a rifle.
But that is a topic for another blog in the not too distant future.
What I want to talk about today is holding our elected officials accountable, and possibly liable, for criminal activities that they knowingly and willing allow to take place, or for refusing to prosecute individuals that commit those crimes.
Watching the many illegal activities that have been going on in many (too many) of our cities and states over the past few months, and in some cases, years, got me to thinking about who should be held accountable, and potentially liable, for these actions, and what legal protections they may have.
Should our elected officials that Support Open Borders and Sanctuary Cities/States be held liable for crimes committed by illegal aliens that they allow to illegally live and work in their city or state?
Should Mayors and City Councils of a city that allow violent protests, riots, looting, destruction of public and private property to take place be held accountable for the damage done by these “peaceful protestors”?
If the answer to these questions, is “Yes”, then my next question is “Why aren’t these elected representatives being held accountable by the people they represent?” And why aren't they being held liable for their acts.
If the answer is “No”, then my next question is “Why not?”
Many of these elected officials are the same elected officials who want to hold gun manufacturers accountable and liable for crimes committed with guns that were legally manufactured and sold, but refuse to hold criminals liable for crimes that were committed during illegal activities that these officials allowed, if not encouraged, to take place.
What these elected officials are guilty of is far more serious and dangerous than anything they accuse the gun manufacturers of. By refusing to enforce existing laws, by knowingly and willingly allowing illegal activities to take place, by not prosecuting those guilty of committing these crimes, they themselves are guilty of aiding and abetting criminals.
To be honest, I don’t blame these elected officials for what they are doing. If allowed to get away with it, elected officials will always abuse their power, and the longer they are allowed to get away with it the greater will be the abuse.
No, the real crime here is that We the People let them get away with it.
As long as we tolerate it, as long as we refuse to hold our elected officials accountable for their actions, we have no right to complain. As long as we keep electing these same complacent and corrupt officials to public office, we have no one to blame but ourselves.
As long as we refuse to hold our elected officials accountable for their actions (or inactions), as long as we allow them to continue doing whatever they want to do with impunity, then we get what we deserve.
Quite frankly, I’m fed up with it. And you should be, too.
It is time for We the People to stand up for our rights. It is time for We the People to say enough is enough. It is time for We the People to stand up and yell "We're as mad as Hell and we're not going to take this anymore".
It is time for We the People to hold our elected representatives accountable!
And if our elected representatives have a problem with this then it is time for We the People to vote them out of office and replace them with someone who will do the right thing and is willing to be held accountable.
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