[color="transparent"]ATLANTA - The right to self-defense is inalienable (that pesky “life, liberty, etc.” part of the Declaration of Independence), but the methods allowed by law have been hotly debated for nearly a century, dating back to the National Firearms Act of 1934, the first gun legislation passed in America. For Chase Oliver, gun control is about much more than the boilerplate talking points addressed by talking heads like clockwork every election cycle and further exploited in syndication without pause following every gun-related tragedy. Oliver, a Libertarian candidate for President who has recently topped the field in 5 polls and participated in the Free and Equal debate with other candidates stonewalled by Democrats and Republicans, is an unrelenting, unambiguous supporter of the 2nd Amendment. [/color]

[color="transparent"]It’s a running joke that if Democrats really want gun control, they should arm every minority in America, and Republicans would race to ban firearms faster than the most ardent progressive. But we don’t need jokes to see this in practice; it’s already happened. In 1967, Ronald Reagan (yes, THAT Ronald Reagan), at that time the Governor of California, signed into law the Mulford Act, banning permitless carry of firearms in public as a response to the Black Panthers in Oakland, who armed themselves to defend their communities, predominantly from race-based harassment by police.[/color]

[color="transparent"]Since that time, the prevalence of mass homicides and school shootings has only ramped up the furor under which this conversation about self-defense is held. Every time a tragedy occurs, proponents of gun control attempt to whack-a-mole the unique circumstances surrounding it into ever-expansive, one-size-fits-all regulations. They play on the pain and fear while it’s all still fresh to push the line of infringement further and further upon law-abiding citizens, but the regulations in place don’t address the root cause, only the symptoms. [/color]

[color="transparent"]Recently, Maine rolled out a new set of firearm regulations in the wake of the Lewiston shooting, even though it wasn’t for a lack of laws that the shooting happened in the first place, but rather a failure to follow the laws already on the books. Passing new laws makes us feel safe because any action looks like progress. The sad truth is that the people of Lewiston are no safer today than they were 6 months ago because all the regulations in the world can’t stop an otherwise law-abiding citizen undergoing a mental health crisis from wreaking havoc. [/color]

[color="transparent"]The adage is apt that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” We have a mental health crisis in this country masquerading as a gun crisis. We have a broken economy that is propped up and protected by the Federal Government. We have a broken healthcare system that neither the government nor the individual citizen can afford. To top it all off, we have a broken media catering to clicks, trafficking in politically stoked fear because it sells. The mental health crisis we experience in this nation isn’t a bug in the system, it’s a feature. People walk through stores openly wearing firearms not because of lax gun regulations, but rather because they’ve been convinced that they need to do so to stay safe. [/color]

[color="transparent"]Chase Oliver wants to remove the debate over self-defense from the equation. If elected president, he has promised to roll back existing gun restrictions and nominate Justices committed to protecting the inalienable right to self-defense. Furthermore, Oliver is also dedicated to treating the disease at the core of our national mental health crisis with a full platform of policies designed to restore the American dream of liberty, prosperity, and opportunity within a more perfect union. [/color]

[color="transparent"]As the only libertarian candidate to campaign in all 50 states, Oliver has shattered expectations and ignited a movement for change. Oliver brings a fresh perspective and unwavering commitment to his quest for a freer, more prosperous America. [/color]