By Adam Dada
Indianopolis, IN

—
Following the story of Bears players Terry ‘Tank’ Johnson and his episode with getting his defensive weapons taken from him by the Gurnee Police department, new news from the other day^[1] has Terry’s security guard murdered in a nightclub that Tank was at. A security guard is there to protect famous people — our very own President has them (armed), the Mayor of Chicago has them (armed), the Governor of Illinois has them (armed) but Terry Johnson is not allowed to have an armed security guard in the City of Chicago, nor in the Village of Gurnee. Why is it that politicians have the right to protect themselves but individuals don’t?

Terry lost his security guard and best friend, Wilie Posey, was killed in a nightclub shootout just days after Tank was arrested for illegal firearm possession. His crime? Alledgely owning weapons without a State ID card targetting him as a weapon owner. Did he hurt anyone? No. Did he threaten anyone? No. He had weapons, and the State didn’t like it. Those very weapons may have helped defend the attack on Posey and Johnson at the nightclub — but the City of Chicago makes it illegal to carry firearms, even if you’re just traveling through town. Friends and cronies of the Mayor and Sheriff of Chicago ARE allowed to conceal carry, but few if any permits are approved annually in the all-powerful city. What a surprise that Posey was unable to defend himself.

I personally am a pacifist — I’ve repudiated the use of force even in defensive ways. I no longer believe in my personal need for a weapon, but I do believe that citizens and residents of a nation or a city should have equal rights to own the same weapons that the State does. While I am not pro-armed revolution, it does make sense that the less the State has over its citizens, the less damage it can do to their inherent rights.

Tank needs a T-shirt that reads “rape my girlfriend, we’re unarmed” and a big sign outside his house that says “rob my house, we’re unarmed.” Maybe he should get the license plates “UNARMED” on his SUV, so when the next criminal that the police don’t bother to watch comes to rob someone, they’ll know exactly who to go after — the one who can’t defend themselves because the law doesn’t let them.

Discuss this article at the anarcho-capitalism forum.

It is all over the news here in Chicagoland this morning (and late last night): Terry Tank Johnson is arrested for gun ownership. He lives about 2 miles from me, and from what I can tell, this is not just non-news, but a violent criminal act of the Gurnee police department. Unfortunately, the law does not look at it this way.

The Constitution of the United States is incomplete as any non-binding document could be. Its purpose was to restrict government — all government — of trampling basic, inherent rights of the people — all people, including citizens, residents, immigrants and foreigners here and abroad. The Constitution says that Congress may make no law infringing on the right to bear arms. Unfortunately, it really does not go into detail on what that means for individual States and townships.

Terry “Tank” Johnson did nothing wrong. When his house was violated by the Gurnee SWAT team, he was training with the Chicago Bears. His girlfriend and friend were home at the time that the SWAT team bashed down the door with their guns armed and aimed. Johnson’s young children were with the two adults. Johnson doesn’t seem to have shot a gun, made a threat, or done anything that would be considered an act of violence. The Gurnee police department sure did — they violated a man’s property, his life, his livelihood and his privacy. Regardless of what the Constitution says is a limit of government, I denounce my old village for their complete lack of peace in this situation. If Gurnee was concerned about Johnson’s intentions, they should have asked about it.

Illinois requires an FOID card — Firearm Owner’s IDentification card. This, in my opinion, is a terrible idea for any gun owner to have — it gives the State a nice list of who owns a firearm, what type of firearm, and specifics about that ownership. I am a pacifist, I no longer own or operate firearms based on my moral beliefs, but I do support the free will of any man to arm themselves if they please. I believe that the State should have no right to anything that the private citizen can’t have. I believe if the State wants to protect the citizens, they must actually go after REAL victimizers, rather than just peaceful citizens who aren’t in the act of a crime or making verbal or written statements in regards to performing a violent crime against another.

Johnson’s friend at his home was arrested for pot — something that I’m sure wasn’t listed on the search and arrest warrants of the inept Gurnee police department.

I won’t stand for this violation of man’s inherent right to protect their homes from criminals and the State. I’m no camoflauge-wearing, gun-toting, conspiracy-viewing right-wing whack-job, but I sure don’t see what Terry “Tank” Johnson did wrong here. A law that requires firearm ownership is dangerous for the free people of the world, and we should not stand for it. Give the Gurnee Police Department (non-emergency) a call and demand that they withdraw charges and get back to doing what they should be doing: truly patrolling the streets looking for real criminals performing real crimes against real property.

It is time for a new constitution, a truly new one with the most basic unquestionable and undebatable terms for even the simplest person to understand. While I don’t support the State’s right to develop a Constitution, I do believe we as humans must step forward and start saying NO, especially to the State as it exists at the most local level. A new Constitution must tell the State that it has no power over us whatsoever; it must provide for greater punishments for those who work for the State than those that the State governs. The Constitution must show that in no way does the State have control over even a minority who disagree with the rest — it must show that a free man is free as long as he is within his property and threatening and harming no one. We no longer need lawsuits provided by “the people” but rather actual victims of actual crimes where actual property or body was harmed. The enforcers of the law must put their lives at risk beyond just their jobs — they must also put their lives on the line for any fraud, coercion, lies, deceit or corruption.

I’ve stopped shopping in Gurnee for the last year, and I refuse to support the local governent due to a corrupt and disregarding government that is more concerned with collecting traffic ticket income than protecting its citizens. In the case of Terry “Tank” Johnson, he was prepared to defend himself as he knew that Gurnee surely wouldn’t do it. That makes him a criminal in the eyes of the State.

Discuss this article at the anarcho-capitalism forum.