From the news reports that I’ve seen about Haiti over the last several years, that country is dealing with a massive amount of violence, gang activity, and general lawlessness.
In short, it’s chaotic and dangerous, so, I understand why people would be cautious about traveling or living there, if they have the choice to be somewhere safer.
I also understand why people would want to hire protection for themselves if they go to Haiti for some reason. After all, if you’re traveling to Haiti, you aren’t likely going there with the intention of dying.
Which is why, according to a former Haitian police officer, he has a security business in Haiti: to protect people travelling there.
So, that’s one lesson (maybe not unexpected) that we can learn from this person: People want to be safe, and firearms help to keep people safe.
There is another lesson that we can learn from him, too, though it may not be quite as obvious. See if you can spot it in the story below. Michael Clements writes,
A naturalized U.S. citizen and former Haitian National Police officer pleaded guilty to smuggling at least 140 firearms to Haiti.
Jean Robert Casimir, 53, of Lauderhill, Florida, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to conspiracy, smuggling, and violation of the Export Control Reform Act on Tuesday, Aug. 4.
Clements continues:
He told the court he purchased the guns for his security business, which hires off-duty Haitian National Police officers to provide armed security for people visiting the island.
Now, it’s absolutely possible that this guy had noble intentions in that he wanted to protect people back in Haiti. The problem is how he went about it.
And that’s where we can draw out the other lesson to learn from him: When someone wants to break the law, they can find a way to do it.
Why is this lesson important to know? Because it is the reason that all gun control, including the type of gun control that makes illegal cross-border sales of firearms, doesn’t work. It doesn’t prevent those willing to break the law from getting guns.
That is true whether you’re talking about a criminal here in the U.S. or someone wanting to smuggle guns to another country.
Gun control can’t prevent guns from getting into the hands of criminals (that’s how authorities found out about this gun running operation: criminals in Haiti were seen with guns that had serial numbers purchased in the U.S.). To deny this fact is to deny human nature.
