Once again the people of this Republic have been challenged by a great crisis in our midst and, once again, politicians are doing everything in their power to do everything but address the crisis with a solution. For politicians, in keeping with the teachings of Rahm Emmanuel, a crisis, however great or small, is an opportunity for advancement of agenda not solutions. For leaders of this ilk, our society of today is rife with opportunity for advancement of leftists ideals.

The open war upon our children in our schools has shown a glaring light upon damaged individuals who are willing to focus their demented hatred on this Nation’s softest targets, our children. But the glare of scrutiny is being shifted away, by opportunistic punditry, from the most telling question of all: Why? Why are public schools our nation’s softest targets, why is mental illness so high among our youth, and why are the laws, in place to deal with the mentally ill, repeatedly ignored?

Instead, politicians call for new legislation, new opportunities to increase their power to “address” a problem they’ve already ignored. Such is the Red Flag gun control legislation being foisted upon the people of Maine. So while good people are asking for answers to the problems in our mental health system, politicians respond, sensing an opportunity to exploit the hurt, rage, and confusion of honest citizens, to further the end game of gun confiscation.

The Red Flag gives law enforcement the authority to confiscate the weapons of a citizen if an significant other perceives or believes the owner of the weapons is a threat for violence or mentally ill. If enacted, Red Flag becomes an end-a-round the Constitution and perception, instead of evidence, becomes the means of conviction. Striking while emotions are high and hot has been the most effective means of leftist activist for centuries and history’s violent cycle is at our door again.

Make no mistake, the final goal of all gun control legislation is confiscation. Perception is the malleable threshold gun control activists have dreamed of to make that end goal a reality. For in the end, those who hold the standards, in laws based on perception, have the ultimate power to manipulate the lives of their fellow Americans.

The Left has long decried the negative restraints of the Constitution. They have used and are using the time proven albeit infamous tactics to subvert civil law and a Constitutional Republic: Crisis, violence, popular emotion, mob rule, public shaming, negative perception, and intimidation. This all in an effort to create an atmosphere were laws and law enforcement is based on emotion and perception.

Who interprets the validity of the perception? The Truth in what is perceived? Is it the same government that regularly dismisses those that criticize it as small minded or mentally ill?

Or will it be the media elites of our country who sniff disdainfully at those who embrace the beliefs of Christianity as being mentally ill? Or those same elites and politicians who blame the over six million members of the NRA, who have never committed a crime, for the mindless killing of our children and label those God-fearing law-abiding citizens as terrorists? Should we allow politicians this authority to regulate the powers of perception over our lives when they embrace and defend MS-13, Ha-mas, and, in turn, disparage, denigrate their own citizens they are sworn with oath to defend?

Red Flag legislation is just another gateway legislation to confiscation. It is agenda based, not solutions based, with a goal for power that is easily manipulated to target those deemed unfit by the powers that be or think they should be. This should be a red flag to people of common sense not to wave the white flag in the midst of emotion and surrender Rights dearly paid for.

History teaches us that each step down the road towards weapons confiscation is a step irreversible with dire consequences, with all the dismissive retorts of conspiracy notwithstanding, which have been heard before. Instead of relinquishing our rights to trial, redress, and defense, we should be demanding our government enforce the laws given. It is to this end that our Founders foresaw that we should be armed for if we are uncomfortable with the government’s perception of us now, imagine if we are unarmed.