Will Oklahoma Gun Owners Have Privacy Under Civil Liberty Restrictions?

A foretelling but often overlooked development this election year is the shared concern about this country’s eroding civil liberties by liberal and right-wing factions.

Libertarians, many of whom have supported Ron Paul and/or Bob Barr, along with many liberal groups and bloggers, are concerned the Bush presidency has essentially abolished basic civil liberties and privacy rights in this country. They point to the new wiretapping bill that gave the American government broad powers to snoop on its citizens and granted legal immunity to telecommunication companies for providing the government information about their customers.

Leading the way in forming and helping this new growing coalition is the group strangebedfellows, which “is a unique and diverse left--right coalition which has come together to put a stop to the eradication of civil liberties in America.”

Does the organization foretell deconstruction of the partisan left/right divide? Will this growing movement impact the presidential election? Well, it really depends on how many people are paying attention to how the Bush presidency, with the complicit help of Congress and the mainstream media, has radically changed the role of the executive branch of the federal government by allowing it to spy on Americans without impunity.

Many libertarians and Republicans will vote for U.S. Sen. Barack Obama this year simply on the issues of civil rights and basic privacy. Obama’s record on these issues can be critiqued for sure (he voted in favor of the wiretapping bill), but no one can really believe U.S. Sen. John McCain and the prevailing GOP power structure will do anything to reduce the new unilateral and dictatorial powers of the American presidency when it comes to civil liberties and privacy issues.

Oklahomans, especially those concerned with gun rights, should pay careful attention to this issue. Do you want the government looking through your emails or wiretapping your phone? What if you—a law-abiding citizen—are talking about guns with a family member or friend through an electronic medium? Will you be systematically flagged and monitored? How can the government then use your personal information against you in the future?

The civil liberty issue transcends the terrible economic policies and record of the Bush administration. This is about basic rights and freedoms of Americans despite party affiliation or disagreements about how to deal with illegal immigration or the country’s health care crisis.