By Tom Reynolds 

Not only the fringe left, but now even such main stream Democratic “intellects” like Kristin Gillibrand would call for the opening of our borders, the abolishment of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) and, of course, the neutering or repeal of the Second Amendment. They are so caught up in the Washington Merry-Go-Round that they have lost sight of what a dangerous world we live in. Ignore, for the moment, hunting and protection from our own government as reasons for gun ownership. There are a world of reasons why we need guns, but these “intellects” would disarm us while opening our borders.

Let’s take a quick world tour of places you don’t want to visit and where the civilian population certainly wishes they had guns.

Russia has a long history of and is still a symbol of internal oppression with its crackdown on rights and freedom within Russia. Corruption is widespread and believed to be a major factor in drug and sex trafficking. Externally, it invaded Crimea and supports Syria’s regime.

Want to visit Asia?

China has a record of oppression and it has unleashed a campaign of politically motivated investigations, detentions and sentencing of its own people. It threatens Taiwan, which has been independent for about 70 years. China is also trying to gain control of international waters in the South China Sea. India has long been plagued by hostility and hate along caste and religious lines. The BJP ruling party wants to make India a Hindu theocracy and has created a hostile and violent environment against religious minorities.

India has nuclear weapons and has a history of warfare with its neighbor, Pakistan.

Pakistan is infamous for its religious persecution, corruption and cooperation with terrorists. It has fought four wars with India, and also has nuclear weapons.

Want to visit the Middle East, which is dominated by Sunni and Shiite Muslims who, since Mohammed died, have hated each other almost as much as they hate infidels?

Iran is a major exporter of terrorism and a threat throughout the Middle East. It is dominated by a Muslim theocracy and its economy is a mess in spite of huge oil reserves.

Iraq has huge oil reserves and was controlled by Saddam Hussein, a dictator who brutalized his people and supported international terrorism. He was temporarily succeeded by ISIS, a radical Muslim terrorist organization which rivaled Hussein in brutal violence. Only the re-intervention of the U.S. prevents ISIS from regaining control, brutalizing its people and threatening the world with its brand of terrorism.

Afghanistan was controlled by the Taliban, which brutalized its people, and was a base for terrorists. Only the intervention of the U.S. prevents the Taliban from regaining control and again brutalizing its people and threatening the world with terrorism.

Syria has been in a civil war since 2011 which has resulted in an estimated half million deaths. The government used poison gas against its own people. It is opposed by ISIS, so the people of Syria cannot win.

The Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza continually launch rocket attacks on Israel, which happens to be the only real U.S. ally in the region.

How about an African safari? It has its share of problems with radical Muslims.

Nigeria drew headlines with the kidnapping and forced marriages of schoolgirls by the radical Muslim Boko Haram, which also uses suicide bombings. Cameroon, Niger and Chad are being drawn into the conflict.

Somalia is torn apart by the Islamic group Al-Shabab. One bombing in 2017 killed 358 people.

Armed groups in the Central African Republic use rape and sexual slavery as a tactic of war.

South Africa has one of the world’s highest violent crime rates. Its government position is to take farms away from white farmer owners leading to murders and violence against those white farmers.

How about Latin America? Amnesty International has declared it the world’s most dangerous place for journalists to work.

Columbia is a major drug exporter, with its associated violence. Groups such as FARC and ELN are behind assassinations, kidnappings and extortions.

Brazil, El Salvador and Honduras have a huge problem with crime. Venezuela is among the most violent places in South America. Although it has some of the world’s largest oil reserves, its store shelves are empty and inflation has run rampant. 

Mexico is traditionally a corrupt country and has a brutal internal war against and among drug cartels. It is a major exporter of illegal drugs into the U.S. In case you hadn’t noticed, Mexico is on our southern border.

I’ll stick to North of our border for my vacation.

Canada is on our northern border and is an island of stability, except that it has a very strange Prime Minister who may change that status.

In a world of instability, hatred and violence, what kind of idiot would want to take away the people’s ability to defend themselves? Answer: Obama, Cuomo, Gillibrand and Schumer.

I could point out that the above “Garden Spots” are dominated by the ocracies that do not tolerate religious minorities, have radical Muslims and brutalize women. In many cases they have huge reserves of oil and natural gas but also have socialist governments to waste the assets, persecute the citizens and take guns away from their citizens in order to better exploit them. But that’s another story.