Dred Scott part 2

Many moons ago in a senior level Civil War course I was struck by the insight that southern fireaters (vehement defenders of slavery as a positive good) were very similar to contemporary gun fireaters. In their rhetoric, slaveowners presented the image of God's chosen people under attack from all sides and forced to go on the offensive. Defense and counterattack, the preferred disguise of aggressors everywhere. Succession and Civil War were rationalized as a counterrevolution to preserve the "pure" intent of the founding fathers against the radical abolitionist Abraham Lincoln. Then as now, I am always struck by the meekness of the Children of Light. Lincoln was anti-slavery for sure but no abolitionist, though fireaters saw his efforts to contain the spread of slavery to the new American lands of the west as the death of their "peculiar institution." Then as now, conspiracy theories were rife in America. Then as now, the real conspiracy of power sows seeds of outrage and discontent to those who should know better. The only defense for the slave power conspiracy was vigorous offense. And of course, then as now an activist, radical Supreme Court delivered a decision on behalf of power that threatened to change the American landscape forever.

Briefly, the Dred Scott decision involved a doctor who brought his slave servant with him to the North on business and died while in a free state. The servant, Dred Scott, argued through intermediaries (property couldn't bring lawsuits) that since his master died on free soil, he was now free. The case wound its way to the Supreme Court and the highest court in the land ruled that no, not only was Scott not free but that slaveowners could bring their property anywhere they wished without hinderance by local laws against it. Essentially this decision opened the door to the spread of American slavery anywhere the stars and stripes flew.

Now, just to be clear, I am not arguing that guns and slaves are equivalent. There is, however, similarity in methods of power using its influence to pass laws against the will of the majority. In this instance, after Trayvon Martin was murdered, the forces of darkness did not express remorse or try to rationalize a defense, they went on offense. From Thinkprogress:

"Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) and 28 other Senate Republicans on Tuesday introduced a bill that would allow people authorized to carry concealed weapons in their home state to do the same in other states that allow concealed carry, without requiring a federal permit.

The Respecting States’ Rights and Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, S. 2213, is meant to ensure that the Second Amendment rights of people are not infringed upon when they travel between states. But rather than set up a federal permitting process for concealed weapons, the bill would essentially require states with concealed-weapons permits to honor the permits of other states."

We can quibble about specifics, but for crying out loud, is Trayvon destined to be the Twenty-First Century's Dred Scott? Is every state destined to follow this graph?

justifiable-homicide-since-2005 from www.progressflorida.org

The nuts at nra sure are salivating over the possibility of this escalation of violence. '"Congress should recognize that the right to self-defense does not end at state lines," said Chris W. Cox, executive director for NRA's Institute for Legislative Action.  "The NRA has been successfully advocating in favor of strong right-to-carry laws for the past 25 years.  We take a backseat to no one when it comes to the right of law-abiding Americans to carry concealed handguns for self-defense."' As Tex Shelters at AddictingInfo.org puts it these "law-abiding American" gun nuts are "People that obsess over guns and see them as the main solution to disputes are fear-filled paranoids. They make life less safe for the rest of us and now have fewer legal restraints to stop them from killing those who scare them." Of course, this campaign of mass murder without repercussions is taking place in defiance of popular opinion.

Table 1 Public Support for Measures to Regulate Firearms, 2006
 

% for Prohibiting
 Gun Use When Under the Influence of Alcohol                             91 %
 for Limiting Sales of High Power/50-caliber Rifles                      85 %
 for Limiting Sales of Semi-automatic Assault Weapons              82 %
 for Criminal Background Checks for Private Gun Sales              80 %
 for Police Permits to Purchase Guns                                                79 %
 for Stricter Gun Control after Terrorist Attacks                            76 %
 for Illegal Gun Sales to be Punished More than Illegal Drugs    54%

Source: 2006 General Social Survey, n=1364

But at the same time, only 11% of people want to outright ban handguns. So nra and the children of darkness are on the warpath against a basically imaginary threat. But, Goldstein is out there somewhere, always threatening to disrupt Oceania's harmony. Somewhat new in the storyline is the destruction and defamation of Trayvon's character, as though his clothing or twitter posts somehow excuse his murder. So many "law-abiding Americans" have jumped on this bandwagon it is as though we just went back to some dark age when racism was perfectly cool again.