Authoritarians; gun laws – Longmont Times-Call

Authoritarians need their enablers

History has shown that government dysfunction can be a prelude to the erasure of democracy altogether, with authoritarianism rising in its place. The spiraling descent of conservatism as a governing philosophy is only accelerating. The GOP House majority is so fraught with dissent, so animated by belligerence, and so lacking in policy acumen that it has passed a record-low number of bills. The mere election of a House Speaker last year was a comedy rather than a coronation.

Democracy’s assassins always have accomplices. These accomplices will always run under the banner of patriotism. They are often mainstream politicians who ostensibly play by the rules and even thrive under them. They never engage in visibly anti-democratic acts. So when democracies die, their fingerprints are rarely found on the murder weapon. But make no mistake, they play a vital role in democracy’s collapse.

When mainstream parties tolerate, condone, or protect authoritarian extremists, they become authoritarian enablers. Throughout history, cooperation between authoritarians and seemingly respectable mainstream politicians has been a recipe for democratic breakdown. Many of the politicians who preside over democracy’s collapse are just ambitious careerists trying to stay in office or perhaps win a higher one. They do not oppose democracy out of a deep-seated principle but are merely indifferent to it.

They tolerate or condone anti-democratic extremism because it is the path of least resistance. These politicians often tell themselves they’re just doing what’s necessary to get ahead. Ultimately, they become indispensable partners in a democracy’s demise and join a long line of semi-loyal politicians who were willing to sacrifice democracy for political expediency.

Brian Litwin, Longmont

New gun control laws taget law-abiding citizens

Democrat legislators are again seeking to disarm all law-abiding citizens and remove rights to self-protection by passing laws restricting not only the types of weapons we can have, but also the locations, they call “sensitive areas,” where we can exercise our constitutional rights. They also seek to burden us with 11% higher taxes on guns and ammo, insurance requirements, more dealer restrictions, registration requirements and more. This is all directed at law abiding citizens, not criminals. Criminals don’t care about gun restrictions, in fact they benefit by making the world safer, for them.

While legislators are disarming law-abiding citizens, defunding police and filling our streets with illegals, our world is becoming increasingly dangerous and more violent. The violent crime rate in Colorado has almost doubled since 2011 (see https://coloradocrimestats.state.co.us). Just look at what happened in totally gun controlled Russia, 137 innocent people killed. How long until it happens here, and who’s going to shoot back if we’re all disarmed? You’ve heard the expression, when seconds count, the police are only minutes away.

To top off this insanity, an Illinois Democrat judge has just ruled that illegal aliens can carry guns, and now the Biden administration has created the Office of Gun Violence Prevention with goals to ban law-abiding citizens from owning certain types of guns, allowing gun manufacturers to be sued if their products are misused, more background checks, and more. All directed against the law-abiding citizens and business owners, not criminals.

Colorado citizens know what to do to protect themselves and their loved ones. Over 16% of them have gone to the trouble and expense of getting concealed carry licenses, and the number is growing. I think we should promote more good citizens to do the same and not restrict where they go.

Donald Cage, Longmont