The duty of citizens

Via Kim du Toit we have this speech by a fellow in New Zealand named Stephen Franks which he gave as he handed over a petition to Parliament regarding re-establishing New Zealand's citizens' right of self-defense. Mr. Franks is apparently working on ammendments to New Zealand law in this area and had drafted the petition at the request of an organization of fellow citizens. Of them, he said:

They simply could not believe that the New Zealanders could allow themselves to be governed by rulers who not only can’t defend innocent citizens, but instead criminalise those who try to defend themselves and their property. “Where has the instinctive sense of right and wrong gone” they asked. “How can this happen in a democracy”.

I tried to explain the cowardice of the ruling clique, how Labour and the other parties despise the common sense of ordinary people. I said this cowardice was quite recent, but it was strong. I’d had members telling me they supported my amendments but could not risk pushing something like that themselves.

Cowardice indeed. One reason the rulers work to disarm the populace is because the realize that an armed citizenry presents a real threat to their power should they become tyrannical, or are perceived to be. This is one of the real reasons for the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, to ensure that we can protect ourselves from our government, as well as others who seek to harm us.

Regarding taking the law into our own hands:

It has always been in those hands. There has never been a time when there could be enough police to protect every New Zealander in this stretched-out land. The mutual trust and security that was part of our heritage did not come from having police to watch every scumbag. It came from decent and self-reliant families who knew they shared responsibility for upholding behaviour standards and the law in their communities.

I know I keep beating on this, but it all comes down to responsibility. Those that would disarm us don't want us to be responsible for ourselves. For whatever reason, whether it's because they believe we're not smart enough, they want to increase their power over us, etc., they want us to be as dependent on government, for absolutely everything, as possible. Carrying a lethal weapon for self defense is the ultimate expression of personal responsibility and they just can't tolerate that.

Sir Robert Peel, who founded modern policing, was insistent that the police had no special privileges. They merely did full time what all citizens could and should do when necessary. Over the past two decades citizens’ arrest has been strongly discouraged. Our police have become instead a class privileged with special rights. Neither we nor they are better off for being expected to enforce the law alone.

Entirely correct. Police deserve our respect for doing a difficult job which can put them in harm's way, but it does not accord them any special privilege over and above the rest of the citizenry. While I agree that current and retired law-enforcement officers should be able to carry a concealed weapon in any state of the union, it should not be limited to them but should be a right enjoyed by every citizen in good standing (i.e. those that are not felons, mentally ill, etc.).

I shall have to do some research to see if I can find out more about Mr. Franks and the legislation he is working on. Would that we had more people like him in this country.

Update: Here's Mr. Franks' page at the website of ACT, which is the New Zealand political party that he is a member of. This page appears to detail the legislation mentioned in his speech.