[C]annot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives we've set. We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded."
Say hello Defense Department Directive 1404.10[PDF]. It's billed as a strictly support force for military operations overseas. What happens if there's nothing overseas to do? Do we as taxpayers pay them a salary to do nothing? Or will they be paid like the National Guard?
On the surface it looks benign. What will it look like after it begins to grow... perhaps fester? What will it look like when no one is able to buy a gun or keep it loaded and available for self-defense? Gun Owners of America offers an analysis of one particular current house bill [111th Congress] H.R. 45...
This bill would require a license for handguns and semiautomatics, including those currently possessed. The applicant must be thumb-printed and sign a certification that, effectively, the firearm will not be kept in a place where it would be available for the defense of the gun owner’s family. The applicant must also make available ALL of his psychiatric records, pass an exam, and pay a fee of up to $25. The license may be renewed after five years and may be revoked. Private sales would be outlawed, and reports to the attorney general of all transactions would be required, even when, as the bill allows, the AG determines that a state licensing system is sufficiently draconian to substitute for the federal license. With virtually no exceptions, ALL firearms transactions (involving semi-autos, handguns, long guns, etc.) would be subject to a Brady check. In addition, the bill would make it unlawful in nearly all cases to keep any loaded firearm for self-defense. A variety of “crimes by omission” (such as failure to report certain things) would be created. Criminal penalties of up to ten years and almost unlimited regulatory and inspection authority would be established."
