It seems that some gun owners in the USA (and perhaps Australia) believe that gun ownership may be used to challenge governments in a hostile manner. It also seems to us that gun extremist groups (groups that want little or no controls on gun ownership) in the US, such as the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) will not clearly condemn those who have such ideas.

GCA urges all Australians who are concerned about the possibility of this occurring in the US (or even Australia) to study the recently published US book, ‘Guns, Democracy and the Insurrectionist Idea’. The authors are two lawyers, Josh Horwitz and Casey Anderson. Details about this book are shown on the American website of the ‘Coalition to Stop Gun Violence’ (www.csgv.org).

There are several gun extremist organisations in Australia. At least one of these is closely associated with the NRA.

Regarding this book, the ‘Coalition to Stop Gun Violence’ website informs us that:

The National Rifle Association (NRA) sells everything from its political agenda to its merchandise with a simple equation: more guns equal more freedom. The NRA steadfastly maintains that the 30,000 gun-related deaths with firearms in the United States every year are a small price to pay to guarantee freedom.

When gun enthusiasts talk about “freedom,” they have something specific in mind—freedom from government oppression. In their view, unfettered access to firearms is the key ingredient to protecting individual rights from overreaching by government. They argue that the only way to keep centralized authority in check is to ensure that individual citizens retain the capability to confront the government with force of arms. As NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre has said, “The people have a right to take whatever measures necessary, including force, to abolish oppressive government.”

This idea, which we call “insurrectionism,” is part of a broader ideological perspective that opposes a strong, activist government in nearly all of its forms. Insurrectionist philosophy degrades the democratic values and institutions that protect all of the freedoms we enjoy as Americans. Gun lobby extremists have been perfectly willing to trample on any freedom that gets in the way of their pursuit of unrestricted private access to firearms (i.e., property rights, access to justice, freedom of information, public safety, etc.). This toxic mix of ideology and firepower has moved beyond rhetoric and resulted in real violence in our country.

On the CSGV website two respected reviewers on the US gun problem, comment on the book:

• “Guns, Democracy, and the Insurrectionist Idea recasts the gun debate by showing its importance to the future of democracy and the modern regulatory state. Until now, gun rights advocates had effectively co-opted the language of liberty and democracy and made it their own. This book is an important first step in demonstrating how reasonable gun control is essential to the survival of democracy and ordered liberty.” – Saul Cornell, author of A Well Regulated Militia
• “This well-written book is the first to examine from an historical perspective the idea that wide spread private gun ownership is crucial for us to maintain our democracy … They argue persuasively that the insurrection movement is far more of a threat to our freedoms than a protector of them.” - David Hemenway, author of Private Guns, Public Health

Note also the review of the book by Professor Robert Spitzer in the June 21, 2009 issue of the journal ‘Law and Politics Review’.