With regard to recent moves by various Vermont politicians to exploit the Newtown, Connecticut tragedy in the name of “public safety,” I’d like to draw attention to something few others care to point out. Other than the fact that Vermont serves as a gun ownership role model for the rest of America (very few gun laws, very little gun crime), those who seek further restictions do not really desire gun control, per se. They merely wish guns to be in the hands of a centralized government monopoly. Last I took a look at history, there is nothing in evidence to suggest that those who earn their paychecks off of the backs of taxpayers are any more moral or trustworthy than those who do not – in fact, I think that one can, based upon historical evidence, make a most solid case for the converse. Our inalienable natural rights do not disappear the moment a single individual in some other geographical location goes haywire. Nor should any intelligent human being allow a forcibly financed cartel to possess all of the most effective weapons. It is nothing short of folly writ large.

– Alex R. Knight III