Harry Browne for President

Can A President Wave A Wand And Stop Gun Violence?
Julie, I share your concern about violence in schools.

The cornerstone of Libertarian policy is opposition to the initiation of force.

Because government supposedly can do whatever it sets out to do, as President I will sign an executive order outlawing mayhem and death. Do you think that would help?

Gun control laws keep innocent citizens from defending themselves. But they do nothing to deter criminals. Count the number of laws violated by the student shooting at you. Is it possible that simply passing another law will prevent a repeat of what happened?

Violence at middle school is spawned by the War on Drugs, which encourages criminal gangs to distribute dangerous drugs everywhere for enormous profit. Ending the insane War on Drugs, and distributing heroin, met-amphetamine, and other drugs through pharmaceutical companies rather than criminal gangs will reduce violence at schools.

Freeing families from the income tax -- as only I have proposed -- and giving parents the money to buy quality schools for their children would also reduce violence in school because no parent will choose to send a child to a school where violence erupts. Many parents today can't do that because, after paying thousand and thousands of dollars in taxes, they are simply unable to afford the kinds of safe schools politicians set up for their own children. Freeing Americans from the income tax will make safe schools affordable.

But passing another gun control law will do nothing more than all the other laws already passed by politicians; all those laws certainly didn't help you.

Otto Bruun lives just North of Seattle, Washington. In early April of this year, he awoke at 3:30 a.m. to bumping sounds in his home. His son yelled at him to grab his gun. Mr. Bruun retrieved a 9-mm and ran to his daughter's room to find an intruder struggling with his son. Otto's son had come to the aid of his 14-year-old sister, who was bloodied and near death from strangulation. Otto fired a shot that scared off the intruder. (The intruder was apprehended, convicted, and sentenced this week.)

Whatever we do to keep students from shooting at teachers, we need to make sure that Otto Bruun's gun is always available to protect his family. Don't you agree?