Pubdate: Fri, 08 Dec 2000
Source: WorldNetDaily (US Web)
Section: Commentary
Copyright: 2000, WorldNetDaily.com, Inc.
Contact:  PO Box 409, Cave Junction, OR 97523-0409
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Website: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/
Author: Dr. Michael S. Brown
Note: The author is a member of Doctors for Sensible Gun Laws.

GUNS, DRUGS AND BOOZE

What do guns, drugs, and alcohol have in common? They are all highly
portable, highly prized by many people and can be abused. Each has
been the object of societal sanctions. A grand, but foolish experiment
with alcohol prohibition was tried from 1920 to 1933. The dreadful
results are well documented. Drug prohibition has lasted much longer
and provides an excellent example of how a prohibition program works
in modern times.

In the name of protecting the public, the war on drugs has led to
greater government power in many areas. The once unbreakable line
between the police and military has crumbled. Our prisons overflow
with people convicted of drug-related crimes, but drugs are more
available than ever. New terms like "body cavity search," "no-knock
entry," "racial profiling," and "stop and frisk" have entered our vocabulary.

SWAT teams that were originally formed to rescue hostages now execute
deadly nocturnal raids on houses designated by informants of doubtful
reliability or on houses of people who annoy local authorities. Guilty
and innocent alike are being killed in increasing numbers. Laws
allowing enforcement agencies to keep confiscated drug wealth often
determine the targets of anti-drug raids. Police corruption is a
constant problem.

Criminal gangs have flourished under drug prohibition, much as they
did in the 1920s. Smugglers and gangsters literally owe their
livelihood to the war on drugs.

It is becoming painfully obvious that the cure is worse than the
disease. Yet some people appear to have learned nothing from alcohol
prohibition or drug prohibition and insist that we experience the joys
of gun prohibition. There are indications that the same
counterproductive tactics will be used. Some of the worst abuses of
government force in recent years were precipitated by technical and
victimless gun law violations.

The media has played an important role by dramatizing the ill effects
of drug abuse, while completely ignoring the way that crime and
violence are worsened by drug prohibition. Perhaps some strange taboo
prevents an honest look at the big picture.

Media treatment of the gun issue is very much the same. Stories
involving inappropriate use of firearms are front page news, but there
is a virtual blackout on positive stories about armed self defense or
the way that stricter gun laws lead to higher levels of crime and violence.

Opponents of both the war on drugs and the war on guns have adopted
the same term -- unintended consequences -- to describe the way in
which stronger laws paradoxically cause more crime and violence. Their
websites are almost mirror images of each other, except that they
complain about the corruption, lack of accountability and violent
depredations of different government agencies. These groups are
isolated at either end of the political spectrum, but their common
interest is obvious.

Those who oppose the disastrous war on drugs and those who oppose the
growing war on guns are starting to reach out to each other. They are
setting aside ideological differences and exploring their common
interest. If these two groups can show the way, there are other groups
who might join a crusade for fewer laws and less government
interference in our daily lives.

Perhaps some enterprising politician will sense this natural alliance
and use it to further his or her career. Republican politicians have
paid lip service to the concept of a smaller, less intrusive
government, but are unwilling to make the ideological shift necessary
to exploit it.

There is no way to predict how much success this potential political
alliance could have, since it will be opposed by many politicians who
jealously protect government power. Even so it has the potential to
redraw the political map for decades to come.
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