August 29th, 2024

Although the United States remains one of the freest countries on the globe, it has taken an anti-freedom turn in the last few decades.

Politicians have gradually infringed on traditional liberties such as free speech and the right to bear arms through conventional legislative means and the use of Big Tech companies as private tyranny enforcers. Even in a country that prides itself on being the freest nation on the planet, eternal vigilance is required to preserve the sacred freedoms our Founding Fathers fought to secure for their posterity.

The latest revelations from former Democrat Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard should serve as a wake-up call to Americans about the very real risk of the US descending into petty despotism. During a recent appearance on Fox News, Gabbard revealed that she was placed on the Biden regime’s TSA Quiet Skies list.

Fox News Host Laura Ingraham emphasized the peculiar timing of placement on the terrorist watchlist. Ingraham inquired, “So what exactly did Tulsi Gabbard do to get added to the terrorist watch list? It came the day after she criticized the Biden administration… How does this make you feel?”

“Laura, this is a pure act of political retaliation. There’s no other way to put it,” Gabbard responded. “The very next day, after my conversation with you on the air warning the American people about how dangerous a Kamala Harris presidency could be, I was placed on this domestic terror watchlist, which is called the ‘Quiet Skies’ list under the Department of Homeland Security… To now have my own government turn around and put me on a domestic terror watch list, it hits to the core and is the ultimate sense of betrayal.”

Gabbard is a former member of the US Congress, where she represented Hawaii’s 2nd Congressional District (2013-2021). Throughout her time in office, Gabbard demonstrated a willingness to buck her party on issues concerning foreign policy and immigration. Since retiring from Congress, Gabbard has taken on more of a high-profile role as a gadfly that calls out Democrats for their increasingly authoritarian turn. Additionally, she has changed her views on the Second Amendment, now disavowing her anti-gun track record in Congress and criticizing the Democrat Party’s current approach to gun policy.

The nature of Gabbard’s placement on the no-fly list is clearly due to her increasingly vocal critiques of the Biden regime. Federal watchlists are explicitly designed to keep tabs and eventually harass political dissidents. Government programs have a tendency to metastasize over time. They start out as ostensibly limited ventures to target specific individuals or activities. However, these same programs morph into broad-based ventures that begin to cover broader segments of the population in the long term. 

The Harris-Walz ticket has already pledged to pass gun control measures such as universal background checks (UBCs) and a ban on so-called “assault weapons”. UBCs are the first step towards creating a federal gun registry, which will ultimately lead to firearms confiscation.  

To make matters worse, Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz has previously voiced his support for the implementation of a “no fly, no buy” proposal, which would bar individuals placed on federal no-fly lists from purchasing firearms. So, it’s not far-fetched to suggest that the current screening process Gabbard is being subjected to could be expanded to the broader population.

Gabbard’s experience should serve as a warning sign to gun owners. We’re already living in an era where a large swath of the political class is committed to infringing people’s civil liberties. If former members of Congress are being targeted for simply disagreeing with the current presidential administration, it’s not far-fetched to assume that they will broaden the list of targets to groups the ruling class hates, namely gun owners.

Gun owners should not get complacent and must be ready to fend off any encroachments against their freedoms. In this era of political polarization, the enemies of freedom can carry out the most heinous of transgressions against foundational liberties if gun owners don’t remain vigilant.