"Homegrown terrorists"

Guns Magazine, April, 2008 by David Codrea

"If you encounter any of the following, call the Joint Terrorism Task Force," read the flyer from the FBI's Phoenix Division.

"[T]he purpose of this information sheet is to assist uniformed patrol officers in identifying potential domestic terrorism."

Well, after all, this was 2001. Then, 9/11 was freshly seared into the national consciousness. Who knows what nefarious activities were being plotted on American soil, exploiting our unmatched freedoms to imperil and destroy us?

So what would a cop on the street look out for?

"Defenders of the US Constitution against federal government and the UN (Super Patriots)," read the very first point in the very first category, "Right Wing Extremists."

"Groups of individuals engaged in paramilitary training," it continued.

Among the other categories, which curiously left out all mention of militant Islam, hijacking aircraft, suicide bombing and the like, cops were advised to be on the lookout for those who would "Refuse to identify themselves; Request authority for stop ... Attempt to 'police the police.'"

Fortunately, this went nowhere. Once discovered and circulated among liberty activists, partnering police agencies quickly disassociated themselves from the embarrassing "draft," and it disappeared.

Fast forward to the present, and welcome to the great state of Alabama. Prominent on their Homeland Security Web site is a list of "Anti-Government Groups," including "single issue extremists," that is, people who, among other things, are "Focused on fixing the 'wrongs" [and] "feel that what they are doing is necessary for a better world"

And what do these domestic criminals profess to believe?

"Gun Control = Enslavement; Constitution has been subverted; The US has lost its sovereignty," read the Web page's only three bullet points.

"Few people involved in this self styled 'Patriot Movement' are criminals," the text explains.

Whew! Had me going there!

"In general, these terrorists claim that the US government is infringing on their individual rights, and/or the government's policies are criminal and immoral," the text continues--wait a minute--I thought we weren't criminals ... now we're "terrorists"?

HR 1955, the Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007, is currently under consideration by the representatives of We the People in Washington DC.

"The term 'homegrown terrorism' means the use, planned use, or threatened use, of force or violence by a group or individual born, raised, or based and operating primarily within the United States or any possession of the United States to intimidate or coerce the United States government, the civilian population of the United States, or any segment thereof in furtherance of political or social objectives."

Fair enough. Sedition is sedition, and true terrorism is something civilization cannot tolerate. But with the real world applications we've seen in Arizona and Alabama, we might ask how this squares against the ultimate purpose behind the Second Amendment--that the people would ever have the means to rise up and throw off the yoke of tyranny by force of arms as a last resort.

And we might ask how Mr. Jefferson would be perceived today if he advocated "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure."

Visit David Codrea's online journal The War on Guns at waronguns.blogspot.com