Carla Gericke

When a former Manchester alderman calls for gun confiscation in the state’s largest newspaper for the state’s largest city, I pay attention.

When that former alderman is Bill Cashin, who called the cops on me a few years ago when he didn’t like my 100% legal and protected First Amendment actions outside “his” Senior Center on Douglas Street (I was protesting against Chris Herbert after he suggested that the elderly of Manchester should be thrown out of their homes in order to be replaced with residents who can pay more in taxes), I pay attention because I know people who think this way are more dangerous than any firearm.

Why? Because anyone who thinks “we need MANDATORY gun buybacks” is a menace to society, liberty, and human dignity.

Let’s break it down:

1. Government is FORCE. What does this mean? It means that for every law we enact, the police are “authorized” to show up and use their guns to make you do whatever it is the piece of paper (the law) says. Sometimes–oftentimes, these days–these black-clad, balaclava wearing men and women, are not all that concerned about the morality of what they are doing, they’re just “doing it.” When confronted, they’ll simply say, “We’re just following orders.”

Of course, you know who else used that argument. Click through for more on “How the Nazis defense of ‘just following orders’ plays out in the mind,” but this is salient:

“If people acting under orders really do feel reduced responsibility, this seems important to understand. For a start, people who give orders should perhaps be held more responsible for the actions and outcomes of those they coerce.”

2. “Mandatory” literally means “required by a law or rule: OBLIGATORY.” So when Cashin uses the word “mandatory” in the context of a gun buyback, the question begs to be asked: What happens when people do not line up to hand over their firearms?

3. Would YOU voluntarily hand over your guns to a group of people who:
a. Are actively trying to disarm you because *they don’t like the things you like*;
b. Treat you, their law abiding neighbors, like criminals even when you have committed no crimes;
c. Are so irrational as to conflate a tool like a gun, with bad actions, like harming or killing someone. If you follow their logic, I’ll get on board when we have mandatory fork buybacks to save people from obesity.

New Hampshire has some of the least restrictive gun laws in the country, and we are one of the safest states. These two things are not coincidental, but rather go hand in hand. I find it utterly shocking, as should you, that a former alderman and veteran would call for mandatory gun confiscation. Back in 2018, several Democrats I was cultivating when I ran for NH Senate said: “Carla, we don’t want to take your guns, and if you keep saying that we do, we can’t vote for you.” Whatcha saying now?