L. Neil Smith once said (and yes, I quote him a lot because he’s articulate and insightful), “People accuse me of being a single-issue writer, a single- issue thinker, and a single- issue voter, but it isn’t true. What I’ve chosen, in a world where there’s never enough time and energy, is to focus on the one political issue [gun rights] which most clearly and unmistakably demonstrates what any politician — or political philosophy — is made of, right down to the creamy liquid center.” We can see no clearer an illustration of this than what is going on right now in Chicago. . .

Politicians almost invariably show you who they really are, at some point. And faced with the ‘imminent’ hosting of both NATO and G8 summits, Mayor Rahm and the the rest of the Chicago Machine are hard at work displaying their true anti-rights, authoritarian colors. The UK’s Guardian notes:

In record time, Emanuel successfully exploited the fact that Chicago will host the upcoming G8 and Nato summit meetings to increase his police powers and extend police surveillance, to outsource city services and privatize financial gains, and to make permanent new limitations on political dissent. It all happened – very rapidly and without time for dissent – with the passage of rushed security and anti-protest measures adopted by the city council on 18 January 2012.

Sadly, we are all too familiar with the recipe by now: first, hype up and blow out of proportion a crisis (and if there isn’t a real crisis, as in Chicago, then create one), call in the heavy artillery and rapidly seize the opportunity to expand executive power, to redistribute wealth for private gain and to suppress political dissent.

The Machine’s initial proposal was a positively draconian increase of fines and fees, plus labyrinthine changes to parade permitting, but huge public outcry has forced them to back off. A little. Their new ‘response’ (to problems that have not yet occurred) include some tightening of restrictions on parade permitting, smaller than initially proposed increases in various fees and fines, shortening the hours in city parks to prevent protesters from using them as staging areas and increasing video surveillance in the city.

All of this with the stated purpose of cracking down on protests. Note that they did not initially say they wanted to crack down on violence, or crime or hooliganism. Their original statements were that they were looking to crack down on protests. Oddly enough, however, there is no sunset provision to roll back most of these restrictions after the summits.

We “gun nuts” are often accused of various naughty things like ‘paranoia‘:

There must always be a THEM out there somewhere, intent upon taking away one’s guns and one’s freedom (which are one and the same of course)

or fomenting ‘Insurrectionism‘:

When gun enthusiasts talk about the importance of an expansive reading of the Second Amendment to the defense of freedom, they are referring to freedom in a general sense, but they also have something more specific in mind–freedom from government oppression.

But it’s not the NRA who is acting to limit the right of people to peacefully assemble in Chicago. It’s not the Second Amendment Foundation or Gun Owners of America who are limiting the right of people to speak freely. It’s neither ISRA nor JPFO restricting the right of people to petition for redress of grievances.

No, the ones trampling these rights are the same City of Chicago politicians and bureaucrats that ‘gun rights’ groups have been warning people against for years – trying to sound the alarm that a government which does not honor the Second Amendment can not be counted on to honor any of them – and frequently being called paranoid and anti-government for our trouble.

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23 COMMENTS

    • Very good, Bruce? Are you kidding me?

      That post was the usual mix of twist and hype and contradictions.

      Normally you say Chicago is a cesspool of violence, proving that gun control fails. Now you say, or quote a guy who says, that Rahm is inventing a problem where none exists.

      Then there’s this beauty:

      “intent upon taking away one’s guns and one’s freedom (which are one and the same of course)”

      “One and the same,” please don’t make me laugh.

      And this:

      “trying to sound the alarm that a government which does not honor the Second Amendment can not be counted on to honor any of them”

      Bruce, how can an intelligent man like yourself say that? The obvious fact is the government COULD eliminate the 2A and continue to honor the rest of them. The fact that you’re continually insisting the 2A is what stands in the way of tyranny is obvious bullshit. We have LESS freedom in the States than they do in England or Australia. Just look around and the Patriot Act and the Indefinite Detention crap. And that happened on your watch, you and all the other gun-rights fanatics who keep talking about how free we are.

      The Second Amendment has nothing to do with freedom.

      • Wrong again, moron. The Second Amendment has a great deal to do with Freedom, as it is the Declaration by the People that, along with the Constitution and the rest of the Bill of Rights, demands that “government” will obey the constraints imposed upon it by the governed.

        Tell us, Mikey, how “government” could just arbitrarily eliminate the Second Amendment (unless you’re talking about the true “government”, that being the People)?

        There are Constitutional provisions for amending the Constitution; go ahead and try it. Even IF the Second Amendment were to be repealed, my Right to Keep and Bear Arms would not disappear, as this, and ALL fundamental human Rights were not granted by “government”, therefore, said Rights cannot, under any circumstances, be revoked.

  2. Ah… nothing will make you feel like a second class citizen in your own home town the way a big gathering of politicos will… unless you’re a celebrity, politician, or mega-donor to someone’s campaign.

  4. Why can’t those elitist goons hold one of their global fascism meetings at a secluded resort away from real human beings so they don’t ‘have to’ pass new draconian laws? I guess that would pass up the opportunity for the goons to write new oppressive laws and deny the attendees access to Chicagoland restaurants, shopping, and escorts.

    • Why can’t those elitist goons hold one of their global fascism meetings at a secluded resort away from real human beings so they don’t ‘have to’ pass new draconian laws?

      Because new draconian laws are the whole point, not merely a byproduct.

      • Correct. All this International crap is to blend into the world police state scene. Hey, we will be just like North Korea. Yay!

  5. Consistently, those that oppose gun ownership fit a mold of restricting rights, confiscating wealth, and lording it over the rest of us. In short, they are Statists and use power for their own means.
    It all starts with making people dependent on the state for security, health, income, and ultimately survival.

  6. Bravo! Eloquently put. The same group that used protests to illustrate their opposition to the Vietnam War, Gulf War(s) and every other action this country has participated in are now squashing that right so they may act unopposed in the repression of the same values they once aspired. Hypocrites, one and all.

  7. So Rahm is taking a play from the Richard Daley/ Al Capone playbook. In Chicago. I’m shocked — shocked — to find that Chicago has always been run by tyrannical Napoleon wannabees.

  8. Anybody notice any parallels with Tim McNabb’s latest post above? (“Protecting New York’s Gangs With Gun Control Laws”). What worked for the politicians in NYC 100+ years ago works for the same statist pols in Chicago today. Hey, why change a winning game plan?

  9. If you go to CPD blogs like SecondCityCop, they’re hoping it will be a repeat of the ’68 DNC police riots.

  10. Other cities that have hosted G8 conferences have been plagued with riots started by hard core anarchists. The rioters target small businesses and the police haven’t been able to provide meaningful protection. I don’t known how bad it is at NATO conferences.

    Personally, I would prefer the city of Chicago to state publicly that they will not prosecute anyone who shoots a rioter in the act of vandalizing his business.

    • I wish they would say the heck with the politicians and just defend the small business owners. Nah… ain’t gonna happen. Police know who their real masters are. Little people are expendable.

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