Alternate Reality

Imagine a time when there was an extremely wise elected Premier of a great and free country. Before his time in office the country had been under siege. Radical Religious types, some of them residing in the country, had taken up various arms and designs against the country and its allies. They deployed their brethren in schemes involving skyjacking, kidnapping, murder and sometimes merely setting off explosives in public; sometimes killing but often maiming and always terrorizing the good and innocent citizenry of this fair land. This man was elected Premier specifically to address this, the most pressing issue of the day.

The Official Doctrine of this country had a specific provision that allowed its citizens to purchase, own and carry firearms for self-protection. The Premier, after considering many alternative plans to combat the terrorists decided to work with the other political entities within the country along with police and private and commercial institutions to enact a law that would use this provision and now require everyone in the country to buy a firearm and carry it with them at all times. Should an act of terrorism become apparent any and all citizens would now be able to protect themselves. Because the citizens were required to be armed and ready to thwart the plans of the radicals it would make the success of these schemes less likely. The Premier and his allies argued that mandatory firearm ownership would be very effective in reducing this type of violence. His political rivals argued to the contrary. This would only increase the amount of violence and bring rise to vigilante justice. Local police already had permit authority and could ensure that citizens were able to pass criminal background checks and be properly trained before issuing a permit to carry a firearm in public. They were already vastly more knowledgeable and experienced in the entire process than the new country-wide bureau would be for many years to come while instituting and enforcing this new law.

We don't know the ending to this story in this Alternate Reality just like we don't yet know the ending to a similar story in our own

. . . keep all this in mind as we wait to hear how the Supreme Court Justices rule on the Obamacare mandate.