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Thread: Libertarian US Senate Candidate Is Seeking To Arm The Homeless

  1. #1

    Libertarian US Senate Candidate Is Seeking To Arm The Homeless

    A Michigan candidate for US Senate, Brian Ellison, who is expected to be the Libertarian party’s candidate in the November midterm election, set his sights on raising at least $10,000 to buy 20 pump-action shotguns and provide training for homeless people. Ellison is calling his fundraising campaign “Arm the Homeless,” and the drive has already made international news.

    Saying that homeless people are “constantly victims of violent crime,” Ellison believes that providing the homeless with firearms to defend themselves would serve to act as a deterrent.
    A 2014 study, entitled Violence and Victims, highlights the disparity in violent victimization of homeless individuals versus the general population:
    Individuals who are homeless have an increased risk of experiencing myriad social problems including victimization and violence. The prevalence of violent victimization in the homeless population has been estimated to range from 14% to 21% and approximately one-third report having witnessed a physical attack on another person who was homeless. This rate of violence is highly disparate when compared to the general population in which only 2% report experiencing a violent crime.
    When Ellison was asked by Michigan Radio if he trusted the homeless people with guns, he questioned why there was judgement and bias against homeless people.
    “I don’t know why the homeless are viewed as such a different type of people as the rest of us. I carry a gun with me all the time, and I don’t victimize anyone. I wouldn’t expect that the homeless would use their weapons to fight off the police who are asking them to leave. I think the homeless would use their weapons to protect themselves from being victims of violent crimes,” he said.
    “Not only are the homeless constantly under threat from would-be criminals,” said Ellison, “but they are also under threat from governments at various levels that criminalize activities that homeless people rely on for survival.”
    Ellison, a veteran who served in Iraq, told The Guardian that he decided to run for office “just to try and make a difference.” While he admitted that his “Arm the Homeless” campaign has shock value— meant to bring attention to his campaign— Ellison said he believes that as a third-party candidate going up against well-funded Democratic and Republican opponents, shock value is necessary to break the media marginalization of third-party candidates. And while the shock value gets publicity, he said the true intent of the campaign is to bring more attention to the high rates of violence experienced by homeless individuals and their dehumanization.
    When asked by The Guardian, as to whether he thought his plan was dangerous, Ellison responded with a question of his own.
    “Well, are you worried about the police being armed with military weapons?” he asked.
    I am. The world we live in is a scary world, where the police who used to dress in short-sleeved shirts and carry a revolver now have long rifles with scopes and bulletproof vests and armoured vehicles.”
    “And quite frankly that scares me much more than a homeless person trying to defend themselves with a shotgun,” he said.
    Ellison noted that he would aim to “pre-qualify” homeless individuals wanting to receive one of the shotguns, and that no one would be forced to carry pump-action a firearm.

    More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-...g-arm-homeless
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment



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  3. #2
    I'll trade wine for a shotgun.
    Also, socialism is not libertarian.
    Quote Originally Posted by Andrew Ryan
    In Washington you can see them everywhere: the Parasites and baby Stalins sucking the life out of a once-great nation.

  4. #3
    Shouldn't a candidate talking about giving stuff away be referred to as a "libertarian" candidate? Because no matter if he calls himself libertarian or that's someone else's description, it isn't accurate.
    Quote Originally Posted by Swordsmyth View Post
    We believe our lying eyes...

  5. #4
    Unless he's raising the money privately- if it's gov funded then definitely not libertarian.
    There is no spoon.

  6. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Ender View Post
    Unless he's raising the money privately- if it's gov funded then definitely not libertarian.
    Article said he was trying to raise it. and also stated it was for Media attention..

    It is a discussion starter,, but not likely an election winner.
    Liberty is lost through complacency and a subservient mindset. When we accept or even welcome automobile checkpoints, random searches, mandatory identification cards, and paramilitary police in our streets, we have lost a vital part of our American heritage. America was born of protest, revolution, and mistrust of government. Subservient societies neither maintain nor deserve freedom for long.
    Ron Paul 2004

    Registered Ron Paul supporter # 2202
    It's all about Freedom

  7. #6
    Raising 10K for arming the homeless is just as free market as if he spent 10K on booze. Don't see why anyone is calling him socialist etc. Free stuff is fine when done voluntarily. Christmas presents are not socialism.
    Last edited by William Tell; 03-22-2018 at 12:41 PM.
    Quote Originally Posted by dannno View Post
    It's a balance between appeasing his supporters, appeasing the deep state and reaching his own goals.
    ~Resident Badgiraffe




  8. #7
    Bring on the neg reps, but, is this for real? Like, are we sure this guy isn't a plant to make gun owners look like nuts? 'Cause I'll be damned if that's not what it seems like to me.

    All I'm gonna say is that he'd better have a good 'pre-qualification' process, considering 1/4 homeless people have some form of severe mental illness. I can pretty much envision how this would work out in the end.
    Last edited by nobody's_hero; 03-22-2018 at 12:52 PM.
    Quote Originally Posted by timosman View Post
    This is getting silly.
    Quote Originally Posted by Swordsmyth View Post
    It started silly.
    T.S. Eliot's The Hollow Men

    "One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors." - Plato

    We Are Running Out of Time - Mini Me

    Quote Originally Posted by Philhelm
    I part ways with "libertarianism" when it transitions from ideology grounded in logic into self-defeating autism for the sake of ideological purity.

  9. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by William Tell View Post
    Raising 10K for arming the homeless is just as free market as if he spent 10K on booze. Don't see why anyone is calling him socialist etc. Free stuff is fine when done voluntarily. Christmas presents are not socialism.



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  11. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by nobody's_hero View Post
    Bring on the neg reps, but, is this for real? Like, are we sure this guy isn't a plant to make gun owners look like nuts? 'Cause I'll be damned if that's not what it seems like to me.

    All I'm gonna say is that he'd better have a good 'pre-qualification' process, considering 1/4 homeless people have some form of severe mental illness. I can pretty much envision how this would work out in the end.
    Well, it's one way to get the mentally ill off the street..
    "The Patriarch"

  12. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by nobody's_hero View Post
    Bring on the neg reps, but, is this for real? Like, are we sure this guy isn't a plant to make gun owners look like nuts? 'Cause I'll be damned if that's not what it seems like to me.

    All I'm gonna say is that he'd better have a good 'pre-qualification' process, considering 1/4 homeless people have some form of severe mental illness. I can pretty much envision how this would work out in the end.
    There a many different concerns possible with this idea, whatever you think of it making it the centerpiece of your campaign seems designed to make libertarians look like kooks.
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  13. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by nobody's_hero View Post
    Bring on the neg reps, but, is this for real? Like, are we sure this guy isn't a plant to make gun owners look like nuts? 'Cause I'll be damned if that's not what it seems like to me.

    All I'm gonna say is that he'd better have a good 'pre-qualification' process, considering 1/4 homeless people have some form of severe mental illness. I can pretty much envision how this would work out in the end.
    I'm sure we can all appreciate the challenge of getting publicity when you're an Unapproved Candidate. Can you say blimp? But my Lord yes, this is nothing but evidence the LP is compromised beyond repair.
    Quote Originally Posted by Swordsmyth View Post
    We believe our lying eyes...



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