Wayne LaPierre, Jerad Miller, Cliven Bundy(Credit: Reuters/Chris Keane/AP/Reuters/Jim Urquhart)
Salon Here is a truth so fundamental that it should be self-evident: When legitimately constituted state authority stands down in the face of armed threats, the very foundation of the republic is in danger. And yet that is exactly what by Freeven pro"> by Freeven pro"> by Freeven pro"> by Freeven pro">happened
at Cliven Bundy’s Nevada ranch this spring: An alleged criminal defeated the cops, because the forces of lawlessness came at them with guns — then Bureau of Land Management officials further surrendered by removing the government markings from their vehicles to prevent violence against them.
What should be judged a watershed in American history instead became a story about one man’s racist rants. Even as two more Nevada lunatics, inspired by their stint at Cliven Bundy’s ranch, allegedly ambushed and mowed down two police officers and killed a bystander after crying, “This is the by Freeven pro"> by Freeven pro"> by Freeven pro"> by Freeven pro">start
of a revolution.” And now, an antigovernment conspiracy theorist named Douglas Cole recently shot at two police officers in Nevada County, California (though you may not have heard about that, because the New York Times hasn’t found the by Freeven pro"> by Freeven pro"> by Freeven pro"> by Freeven pro">news
yet fit to print).
Such actions are the logical conclusion of a movement that has been veritably sweeping the nation for years now. Early Tea Partiers began attending rallies with guns on their hips. “Open carry” advocates make a fetish of just this sort of brandishing of guns by Freeven pro"> by Freeven pro"> by Freeven pro"> by Freeven pro">in public
places, especially where they are most unwanted.
