Stand Off – Private US Citizens vs. US Government

Taken from “Front Sight” blog article – This happened 12 April 2014.

Here is a video from the scene of the armed standoff between the federal government and hundreds of American citizens in the desert near Las Vegas on April 12.

The reason for the dispute is not as important as the fact that is was ARMED citizens who converged on the scene to support and prevent armed agents of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) from confiscating a private citizen’s cattle.

Make no mistake, it was not the hundreds of protesters who stopped the federal government from their actions. Had it just been unarmed protesters with signs and flags, the outcome would have been the same as any protest you have witnessed in our lifetimes. Protesters would have been ordered to disperse and those who did not would have been pepper sprayed, beaten, and arrested.

No, this protest was different. This was much more than a simple, unarmed protest. This time, there were citizens with handguns, shotguns, and rifles who would not back down and who demonstrated the willingness to use their guns against the government forces should the government fail to disperse.

Fortunately, the government chose to withdraw and deescalate the conflict.

It was the proper decision. Had a shot been fired, by either side, there were hundreds of thousands of armed and trained citizens from the western states who were watching and would have ultimately been drawn into a battle with the federal government. Such a battle would have forced local and state law makers and law enforcement to either stand with the government or stand with the citizens. Americans from both sides would have been injured and killed.

Yes, this was a very tense, historic, and precedent setting conflict. This was our generation’s “Old North Bridge” (a historical site in the Battle of Concord, the first day of battle in the American War of Independence), and could have been the second “shot heard round the world.”

Fortunately, the government chose to withdraw and deescalate the conflict. I thank them for their better judgment in this situation.

THERE IS NO JOY IN ARMED BATTLE WITH THE GOVERNMENT. Americans will die on both sides.

If a gunfight can be avoided, whether with an individual or our government, it should be avoided.

Only when the government leaves us no choice, as when the British marched on our forefathers to confiscate their weapons and ammunition, should we consider use of force. Let’s hope it never comes to that and a good lesson was learned by both sides.

Hopefully the government learned that there will be no more Waco type sieges because armed citizens are watching and ready to respond to assist their fellow citizens. Hopefully the government now better understands that they only hold the power that “We the People” entrust to them under our Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Hopefully Americans who watched the conflict build to a boiling point, and then resolve when the armed citizens showed up, learned that guns in the hands of responsible Americans gives teeth to our Constitution.

Hopefully Americans better understand that the Second Amendment is the most important amendment because it preserves our freedom by protecting all the other amendments.

Special thanks to the numerous Front Sight students and members involved in this historic confrontation, including Sheriff Richard Mack of CSPOA (Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association) and Stewart Rhodes of Oath Keepers who worked for a peaceful resolution.

And special thanks to the decision makers in the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and federal government law enforcement agencies who made the right decision to deescalate the conflict.

I cannot say that the conflict is over, but it is no longer an armed conflict. Should it need to continue, the proper venue is the courtroom.

Here is the video taken at the scene… Private Citizens vs. US Government