November 7, 2024

Is the Second Amendment in Danger From The UN?

In the article The Future of America, a commenter posted a link to the UN Conference on Arms Treaty and commented about how the UN wanted to use this treaty to strip American’s of our guns, to which I remarked (tongue in cheek) that the UN states the following and should of course be trusted.:

“The ATT will not:
• Interfere with the domestic arms trade and the way a country regulates civilian possession
• Ban, or prohibit the export of, any type of weapons
• Impair States’ legitimate right to self-defence
• Lower arms regulation standards in countries where these are already at a high level.
An Arms Trade Treaty will aim to create a level playing field for international arms transfers by requiring all States to abide by a set of standards for transfer controls, which will ultimately benefit the safety and security of people everywhere in the world.”

For years I have seen many people on forums claim that the UN is trying to take our guns. Someone always replies that the UN can pass all the treaties they want but that won’t mean anything on US soil. While true, that is unless the Senate ratifies it. It then becomes law.

There was an article published in 2011 from Forbes called U.N. Agreement Should Have All Gun Owners Up In Arms that somehow got put on the Drudge Report. It painted a very concerning picture of how easily this could be done.

The article lists five key things the senate ratifying this treaty would do, they are:

“1. Enact tougher licensing requirements, creating additional bureaucratic red tape for legal firearms ownership.
2. Confiscate and destroy all “unauthorized” civilian firearms (exempting those owned by our government of course).
3. Ban the trade, sale and private ownership of all semi-automatic weapons (any that have magazines even though they still operate in the same one trigger pull – one single “bang” manner as revolvers, a simple fact the ant-gun media never seem to grasp).
4. Create an international gun registry, clearly setting the stage for full-scale gun confiscation.
5. In short, overriding our national sovereignty, and in the process, providing license for the federal government to assert preemptive powers over
state regulatory powers guaranteed by the Tenth Amendment in addition to our Second Amendment rights.”

Before the Obama Administration I would have said passing this type of UN treaty stood no chance. But since the Senate used some slimy tactics to shove obamacare through, now I am not so sure. The left hates private gun ownership, and if this President is reelected, I do believe he will make a power grab much bigger than that of his first term as he will have nothing left to lose. I believe that our second amendment would be a part of that power grab.

If this were to pass, I shudder to think what enforcement of this would look like. It could be the catalyst that pushes the country into marshal law and pits Americans against themselves.

 

God’s Law vs Man’s Law

Over the last two days in A Short Prepper Civics Lesson and in The Future of America. I have detailed that the founders stated what our God given rights are. I have also given some possible scenarios where those rights may be restricted, if not completely taken away. How then should a Christian respond?

Romans 13:1
A few years back I decided to read one chapter of the Bible every morning. There were some things I didn’t understand. I spent some time researching them. One of them was Romans 13:1. This verse differs greatly depending on the version of the Bible you have. I’ll post two.

King James:
“Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.”

Many other versions are similar to this NIV version:

“Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.”

The reason this was difficult for me is that there have been some truly awful governing authorities throughout history. I questioned whether a loving God would want us to subject ourselves to their authority. Like I said, this didn’t make sense. On a side note, there have been bad governments that have used this verse to keep Christians in line, claiming your God tells you to submit.

I did a bit of digging and thinking and found an article called Spiritual Authority and Romans 13. I don’t agree with everything the author says but he does make it clear that Paul was not telling us to be subject to the worlds authority, that we were to be subjected to our spiritual authorities. That made this verse more clear for me, as some of man’s laws absolutely contradict Gods law.

But let’s say that the verse actually means that we should submit to government. Does that mean even when it goes against God’s law?

God’s law vs. Man’s Law

As a general rule, Christians make excellent citizens. By living as Christ did and loving our neighbor as ourselves, we tend to stay out of trouble. There are many times when man’s laws and God’s laws are the same. For example, many of our current laws are based off of the Ten Commandments. Until recently, they were displayed in many court rooms across the country. In some places they still are.

There are times when there is a law that man uses to infringe upon our Christian liberties, such as taking a cross down from a national park or a city stopping a church from ringing a bell. At times like these I am reminded of Mathew 5:41:

“If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.”When a Roman soldier would ask a Jew for directions, Jews would often give them the wrong ones. To stop this, a law was created that said when a Roman soldier asked for directions, the Jew had to walk with him for the first mile.

When our Christian Liberties are infringed upon, I think we should still make a stand, do battle in courts, protest or by other means voice opposition. But in the end, I think, since it does not go against Gods law, we must accept it and “walk the second mile”.

But then there are times when man’s law absolutely goes against God’s law. What should we do then? Following are a few examples of when God’s people rebelled against man’s law and followed Gods.

Daniel 1:8
King Nebuchadnezzar has requested among others that, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah be put in his service. They are given wine and fancy foods to eat. Daniel and company refused to defile themselves with the royal foods and asked to be allowed to eat just fruit and vegetables for ten days.

Daniel 3:1
This is the story of King Nebuchadnezzar building a 90 foot tall statue of gold and demanding that everyone bow and worship it. When Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused, they were thrown into the furnace.

Daniel 6:7
There is a law passed that anyone who prays to any god or man for the next 30 days would be thrown into the lion’s den. Daniel prays to God and is thrown into the den.

Esther 4:11- 7:3
It is forbidden to enter the kings chambers without invitation. Violation of this is punishable by death. Esther enters and is welcomed by the king. She later asks for her people to be spared and the king grants her request.

Mathew 2:16
King Herod orders the murder of all male children, aged two and younger. Joseph and Mary flee to Egypt.

John9:19
Jesus tells Pontius Pilate he has no authority over Him, essentially saying God is permitting Christ’s death.

The book of Acts
There are many examples of the Sanhedrin telling the 12 apostles to stop preaching about Christ.

These are just some examples I was able to find. Thank you to Mike for the assistance. God’s law should trump man’s law every time. There is almost always a cost; loss of reputation, financial penalty and, for some, even to this day, martyrdom.

When man’s law contradicts Gods law, how you respond is between you and God. I am just here to point out that there is biblical precedence for going against man’s law and government to keep the laws of God.

 
This article is from a series of three, they are:

A Short Prepper Civics Lesson
The Future of America
God’s Law vs Man’s Law

 

The Future of America

 

In this article I want to go over just some of my concerns for America and what it might mean for our future.  I’ll briefly touch on prophecy and what role it will have in America’s future.  But I will also use our recent history as well as the recent history of some other countries to see where we may be heading.

 

Concerns for Our Nation

No country is perfect, nor is any administration.  That being said, the last four years have seen a real infringement on the constitution, damage to the economy and so many other concerns too numerous to name.  The following is a short list.

Passing laws that are thousands of pages long, without reading a single one, Nancy Pelosi actually said the following about the healthcare bill in 2010 “But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of controversy.” 

The DHS allows the TSA to molest people at will.  I have heard of a grandmother in a wheelchair with a colostomy bag, a child in a wheel chair and multiple others that are disgraceful.

The authorization of using drones on Americans to me is stomping on the fourth Amendment, which protects us against unreasonable searches and seizures.  If you have probable cause, get a warrant but, to my understanding, that is not a requirement the FAA put on the multiple police agencies that now have permission to use them.

God has been chased from our schools, courthouses, some national parks and if some had it their way, from every other aspect of our lives.

Our economy is being propped up and I fear the final nails are being added to it.  The fault for this lies with both parties, one used a hammer and nails, the other a pneumatic nail gun.

Heroes coming home from serving their country are labeled as potential terrorists by the DHS.  They retracted it but it was said nonetheless.

We have a President that “forgets” to say God in a few different addresses and has said we are no longer a Christian nation.

They granted power to “shut down” the Internet in times of crisis. This would effectively shred the first Amendment and shut down free speech. 

There have been multiple rumors at potential gun grabs.  This is one of the reasons gun sales skyrocketed after our President was elected and why ammo was so hard to find.  Are they true or not?  I don’t know, but it would not be an easy task.

The constitution was designed with checks and balances, to keep any one side from becoming too powerful.    Our current President has stated numerous times that he’ll “do it with or without” Congress or the Senate.

The federal government has grown vastly under both political parties, to such a behemoth that in some months the unemployment rate dropped because of employees hired by the government, as was the case with the census. 

This President and congress have ignored the Constitution and the Bill of Rights on several occasions; creating Czar’s that are outside the three branches of government and using obscure rules to pass laws that could not pass by a majority vote such as “Obamacare”.

As I said, I could go on and on. 

 

The Future or America (prophetic)

I am not a prophet, but have studied it for years.  I am not saying whether we are in the end times or not but, Christians in America are aware that America is not mentioned in the end times.  While true, many nations are not mentioned the end times.  This doesn’t mean that they don’t exist or are destroyed; it just means that they are not key players. 

I am a patriot.  I have served my country and love it dearly.  I do believe that America will decline from the worlds one super power to a nation of less prominence. This is not something I look forward to.  It is a bitter pill to swallow.  Christ wasn’t looking forward to the cross, yet He said not His will but Gods be done.  I’m not saying we just lie down and let our values continue to be trampled but that we be ready and expect things to change.

Right now we are the worlds’ police force and the chief reason some nations don’t outright attack Israel but instead launch rockets from surrogate organized thugs who’re backed by Iran and other nations.  We’re told in the Bible that the entire world will turn against Israel.  I believe that for God’s will to be done, America must be removed from being the sole super power and Israel’s protector.  That does not mean we Christians turn our hearts from her or stop praying for Israel.

America has been a key player, if not the only super power since World War II, if not earlier.   Whether the end times are upon us or many years from now, America has changed and will continue to change.  I cover some of what I think will happen in our future below.  Some of it will be mild and some could be extreme, but this is part of why we prepare.

I have read that some people claim America will be destroyed.  Others claim that America is actually the New Babylon and others state that America will be broken up into smaller sections.  Like I said, I’m not a prophet, I don’t know what the Lord has planned for America, but His will be done, whether I like it or not.

 

The Future of America (Secular)

Even if the end times are hundreds of years from now, America will change. The following are some of the things I think we may see.  As I mentioned above, I’m not a prophet.  I am getting these ideas from looking at the current and recent past of world and national events.

While we could be attacked by an EMP or an all-out assault from another nation, or a variety of other things that originate from outside our borders, I believe, more likely, we’ll do it to ourselves.

With the colossal amount of debt we have, we will eventually come to the point where we are forced to make cuts.  The military is a popular place for making cuts, especially on the left.  If cuts are made deep enough, we will pull out of the many countries we maintain bases in.  (The argument could be made that this should be done now.)  Once we have less of a presence around the world, cuts could be made to the size of the military.  We would then have little to no presence in foreign countries and a much smaller force at home.  The once “most powerful military the world has ever seen” is now rendered, more or less, irreverent.

Before Argentina’s economy collapsed, it was on par with America’s.  Once it did crash, inflation climbed almost as fast as the crime rate.  It’s been a decade and they are not even close to where they once were.  Japans economy collapsed and they call it “Japan’s lost decade”.  They were still working their way back before being ravaged by earthquake, tsunamis and nuclear reactor problems.

Cuts will also have to be made on public services that many people have come to expect as rights.  When this was done in Spain, the people rioted.  When it was done in Greece, people rioted.  There were also anti-austerity riots in London in 2011.  The point I am making is that when we reach that point where we must make cuts, I think we may see riots worse than we have seen around the world; rioting so bad that people will beg for the government to step in and stop the riots and looting.

 

Martial Law and the Suspension of Habeas Corpus

In a large scale riot, many police departments could soon be pushed to their limit.  Local or federal governments could invoke martial law and suspend habeas corpus.

Before going any further, let me define a few terms.  First is Martial Law; Wikipedia actually has a very good definition of what Martial Law is, so I’ll just copy it here.

“Martial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis—(usually) only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively (e.g., maintain order and security, and provide essential services), when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law becomes widespread. In most cases, military forces are deployed to subdue the crowds, to secure government buildings and key or sensitive locations, and to maintain order.[1] Generally, military personnel replace civil authorities and perform some or all of their functions. In full-scale martial law, the highest-ranking military officer would take over, or be installed, as the military governor or as head of the government, thus removing all power from the previous executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government.”

 

Here is the definition of Habeas Corpus offered by Cornell University Law School:

“Latin for “that you have the body.” A writ of habeas corpus is used to bring a prisoner or other detainee (e.g. institutionalized mental patient) before the court to determine if the person’s imprisonment or detention is lawful. In the US system, federal courts can use the writ of habeas corpus to determine if a state’s detention of a prisoner is valid.  A habeas petition proceeds as a civil action against the State agent (usually a warden) who holds the defendant in custody. It can also be used to examine any extradition processes used, amount of bail, and the jurisdiction of the court.”

The reason these two terms are important is that they could be used to quell any out of control rioting or violence.  Suspension of habeas corpus means you can be detained without going before a court to see if it is merited.  This could be indefinitely in a time of “crisis”.  If martial law is declared, the constitution has effectively been replaced with military rule, thus suspending your God given rights.

Martial law has been declared a few times in American history; Andrew Jackson imposed it in the war of 1812.  In 1892 it was imposed to quell a rebellion from striking miners who blew up a mine.  It was used again in 1914 to stop another miner uprising.  In 1934 the Governor of San Francisco used martial law to stop rioting during a dock worker strike.  Hawaii was placed under martial law in 1941 after the attack from the Japanese on Pearl Harbor. There is some confusion if martial law was declared after Hurricane Katrina.  I have seen reports saying that it was not declared.  However, this statement says that the Mayor of New Orleans did in fact declare it.

There have been people claiming that the government has been just waiting for an opportunity to implement martial law and throw people into FEMA camps.  I’ve never really bought into that line of thought.  Looking back at the freedom the founders wanted for us and how much the last two administrations have grown the federal government as well as how much the current president has sidestep the constitution to get more and more power, I’m convinced that this president, more than any before, would be willing to suspend habeas corpus and install martial law on a semi broad scale.  I say “semi broad” because it would be nearly impossible to enforce martial law in a large area unless all of our troops are pulled home as a result of cuts and closing foreign bases I mentioned earlier.

Even if martial law isn’t declared, there will be financial cuts made and liberties will continue to erode.  That is, unless and until a majority of American’s wake up and demand that we move back to what the Founders had intended for us.  Smaller government, people empowered to pursue life, liberty and happiness on their own, not expecting Uncle Sam to hand it out to them.

 
This article is from a series of three, they are:

A Short Prepper Civics Lesson
The Future of America
God’s Law vs Man’s Law

 

A Short Prepper Civics Lesson

The Declaration of Independence

The Founding Fathers, Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence
I mentioned in my Memorial Day Prayer that I had some concerns about our country, but that was not the time to discuss them. This week, celebrating the birth of our nation, seems fitting, though I could be wrong. I will post a series of three articles on my concerns about America, and what might lie in our future.

These articles will not be the usual article on preparedness, but I hope you still read them as they point out reasons to prepare. I’ll touch on two things I generally stay away from; politics and prophecy. There might even be a little civics lesson but I promise not to bore you.

Some time ago I started studying some of the founding fathers and the creation of our nation. What I found was that many of our founding fathers were men of God who wanted separation from a king (government) that was over reaching into almost every aspect of their lives. Our nation was, in fact, based on Judeo-Christian values, though many today would say that is untrue.

When you look at what the vision of the Founding Fathers was and when you read the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, you begin to see how far we are from the Democratic Republic they set out to build. Please don’t misunderstand, I think our form of government is still the best in the world, but I do see where we have gone astray.

Also to be clear, over the next three days, you might get the feeling that I am anti-government. This is not true. I am just very pro citizen and for small government.

 

The Founding Fathers

The Founders knew that government was not the answer, the governed were. We are to be a government of the people, by the people, for the people.

The way that our electoral system is supposed to run, someone would leave their normal job to run for office, win the majority of votes or Electoral College votes and then stay in office for a term or two. I believe it was their intent that the elected would leave office and return to their normal job after their service, not stay in office their entire lives.

They did not want the federal government to be the immense size it is today. They wanted the state to regulate its people and when the state over reached, the federal government would step in.

They went to great lengths to make sure the President could not be set up to be another king. He was granted only so much power, with two other branches of government to keep him in check.

There was much conversation and debate to craft a document that would limit the scope of government while defining the rights of the people.

 

The Constitution

The Constitution defines the rights and roles of the three branches of government, giving powers and setting limitations. Many other countries have modeled their constitution after the United States of America’s.

Is it perfect? Of course not. It was written by men. If it were perfect is wouldn’t have counted a slave as 1/5 of a man. Yes, I know that counting as 1/5 was a step in the right direction and no, I am not condoning slavery.

The constitution defines how a bill shall become law, gives the power to collect taxes, coin money, keep an Army and Navy and even defines how to make an amendment to correct, add or remove something in the future, such as the Thirteenth Amendment that abolished slavery.

 

The Bill of Rights

The Bill of Rights puts limits on government and empowers and protects citizens. It gives us the right to free speech and to bear arms. It gives us protection from unlawful search and seizure, the right to “plead the fifth” and to not incriminate oneself. This is also where amendments are made, such as ending slavery as well as starting and stopping prohibition.

 

The Declaration of Independence

This document, in my opinion, took great courage to write. Aside from the bible, it is one of the most important documents in existence, largely due to the following sentence:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

The reason that one sentence is so important is because it states that the rights mentioned above in the Bill of Rights and the right of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are granted by God, and what God grants, man cannot take away.

 
This article is from a series of three, they are:

A Short Prepper Civics Lesson
The Future of America
God’s Law vs Man’s Law
 

Preparing for the Inevitable

As Prepper’s, we prepare for all sorts of things that MIGHT happen, but how many of you have planned for something that WILL happen? I’m talking about dying and going home to meet the Lord. I know what I want my wishes to be, but unless they’re documented, someone else could make those decisions for me.

I don’t think it’s fair to my wife or anyone else to have to endure the burden of what to do if I am in vegetative state with no chance of coming out of it. Do you want to be kept alive in any state? How about organ donation? Do you want or be buried or cremated? Where do you want to be buried?

My wife and I just recently completed our living wills at Legal Zoom.com. It was painless, quick and fairly inexpensive, around $40 per will, including shipping.

They have some questions with multiple answers for you to choose from. You select your choice and move on. Some of the questions are hard ones, like “Do you want to be kept on a feeding tube if in a vegetative state?” These are questions you can spare your loved ones from having to answer.

Once completed, they mail you the will and you must initial in a few spots in front of two witnesses. There are probably other steps for other services. We had ours notarized as well.

Legal Zoom.com offers a wide variety of services, from living will and last will and testament to creating an LLC and copywriting. I only mention these things because I was a bit skeptical about how easy they claimed things would be.

I’m not an affiliate of Legal Zoom.com nor will I be reimbursed in anyway if you click the link. If you would rather use some other service to do this, fine, but please take the time to get it done now.

 

Multiple Uses for Multiple Things

Every now and then I come across a webpage that lists different uses for a certain product and I always bookmark them. Today I thought I would share the collection I have with you. I can’t vouch for any of these sites, or if the things they claim are true, but here they are.

 
Hydrogen Peroxide
Food Grade H202 is a blog and looks like they may sell an e-book or two, but there are many free uses listed.

Using Hydrogen Peroxide is another blog on Hydrogen Peroxide and looks like they sell an e-book as well, but again, many free uses are listed.
 

Vinegar
I can’t seem to find the original source, but here is one link to the list of Uses for Vinegar created by Rae Osenbaugh.

Vinegar And It’s Uses also has many uses and other information on it.
 

Apple Cider Vinegar
10 Tips for Using Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple Cider Vinegar Cures

 
Salt
46 smart uses for salt
Sixty Uses for Salt
 

Olive Oil
Must Have: Olive Oil
25 Alternative Uses for Olive Oil
 
Baking Soda (Bicarbonate soda)
Sixty Uses Of Baking Soda
51 Fantastic Uses for Baking Soda
75 Extraordinary Uses for Baking Soda
 
Vodka
21 Uses for Vodka
 
Rubbing Alcohol
25 Alternative Uses for Rubbing Alcohol
12 Ways to Use Rubbing Alcohol
 
WD-40
Almost 2000 uses for a can of WD-40 This site list 200 of the almost 2000 uses.

This is the Official List of 2000+ Uses from WD40.com

 
10 great household products

This next site is the motherlode, it has uses for 10 great household products including Vinegar, Baking Soda, Coca Cola, Borax, Coffee Filters. WD-40, Ketchup, Salt, Sugar and Honey

If you have any other sites like this, please add them in the comment section and I’ll add them to the list.

 

Teaching Children About Preparedness

Exodus 18:20 “Teach them the decrees and laws, and show them the way to live and the duties they are to perform.”

I believe it is up to us to teach the next generation to be more independent and more self-reliant, to be prepared for what life might bring, and not to see government as a safety net that will always be there from cradle to grave. How you teach your kids about preparedness is completely your decision. Today, I am just going to give a few ideas and tips you may want to use. Much of this article will depend on the age and maturity of your kids.

 

Lead By Example

Kids often, for good or bad, mimic what their parents do or think that is just the way things are done. As an example, my mom made loads of jelly from our grapes, raspberry and strawberry plants. I was probably ten or eleven when it dawned on me that some people actually bought their jelly from a store.
If they see you storing more food or building a BOB, chances are they’ll ask what you’re doing. Just make sure you’re ready with an answer that will inform, not scare.

 

Use Examples They’re Familiar With

All kids do fire drills and tornado drills in school. They understand the concept of knowing how to do something and being ready to do something “just in case”. Explain that this is the same kind of thing; we hope that there isn’t ever a storm that makes it so we are without electricity, but we want to be ready just in case. Explain using the seatbelt; we put it on every time we get in the car, just in case there’s an accident.

 

Use Examples They’re Not Familiar With

With older kids, use your judgment on teaching them about some of the bigger scenarios that have a much slimmer chance of happening. We’ve talked to our kids about EMP and what life might be like. We had been Prepper’s for a while by then and were moderately prepared. Had we not had those preps to point to, I think it may have been a scarier conversation for them.

 

Be Honest

I’ve never been a believer in hiding bad or difficult things from kids. Hiding doesn’t get them ready for life, which is full of bad and difficult things. We just need to be prudent about when and how we expose them to these things.

If your kids are mature enough to understand the dangers and potential dangers we live in, explain that you want to be prepared to be able to take care of them if any of those things happens.
We’re to the point now that when the kids hear a news story about the economy or some other related preparedness item they point it out to me.

Here are a few resources that are mostly geared to younger children that you can use to teach your kids about preparedness.

 

FEMA

FEMA has come out with a few programs aimed at helping to teach children about preparedness. The Ready Kids Activity Book is a 16 page PDF that is part coloring book, part comic book and has word finds and other related activities.
They also have the Disaster Preparedness Coloring Book from 1993, which still contains relevant information. FEMA also now has Fun and Gameswhich contains many different preparedness related activities for kids.

 

Sesame Street

Sesame Street had originally partnered with FEMA, but it looks like they now have their own preparedness movement called Let’s Get Ready!

 

The Red Cross

The Red Cross has put together an Educators Kit called “Masters of Disasters”. They have curriculum for grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8.

 

Arthur


I had never seen this cartoon, but came across this episode on a forum some time ago. In it, there is a blackout and Arthurs’ family isn’t prepared. His neighbors on the other hand, you’ll have to watch to find out. I couldn’t find it in one stream, so it has been cut in two, both are linked below.

 

 

 

 

Preemptive Salvage Planning

Let me lead off with saying I am not talking about doing anything illegal, or casing a joint to break in. I’m also not advocating that you ever salvage or loot from any business that is actively being operated or potentially being operated. In Is it Ever Okay to Loot or Salvage? I discussed the law of necessity. This article is about making mental notes of places near you, that in a large scale survival situation worst case scenario, could be very useful to barter or salvage from to benefit you and your community under the law of necessity.

The mindset is to be looking for things that help you take care of the five basic human needs; food, water, shelter, energy and security. You’re not out shopping for things that you couldn’t afford before and are available now.

 

Big Box and Department Stores

There are a large variety of stores in this category, from home supply, do-it-yourself-type stores, to stores that sell a bit of everything. There are also stores that sell one main item, such as clothing or shoes. These types of places will be the first salvaged for obvious reasons.

 

Schools

Schools have a wide variety of items. They have the obvious teaching supplies for various aged children. However, depending on the school, there could also be an auto shop, various types of sporting equipment that could be used such as ski’s or bows and arrows. Schools are also equipped to feed a large number of students every day. The food they have on hand would probably run out quickly but the kitchen could still be useful.

 

Pet Stores and Veterinarians

Aside from getting food for your pet, many of the medicines given to animals are the exact same as the ones given to humans, they sometimes change the name.

 

Auto Part Stores

Depending on the event, vehicles might not be running, but you could replace a few parts and get them running again. If vehicles are still running the chances of the factories making car parts could be low. You might want to make sure you have common consumable parts, like motor oil, spark plugs and belts.

 

Camping and sporting outlet stores

These two will be among the first visited by salvaging parties and for good reason. From self-defense to putting food on the table, these stores will be a gold mine.

 

Antique Car museums

There is an antique car museum not far from me. These cars would most likely still run in the event of an EMP. I also know that there happens to be a late model auto parts store not far from me.

 

HAM

I know that there are a couple neighbors who are HAM operators. I can tell from their antennae. Seeing if they are ok and able to get any news would be a good idea. If they didn’t fare so well, learning how to use a HAM could be another good idea.

 

Movie Theaters

Aside from all the candy stocked, they have hundreds of pounds of popcorn seeds, which can be ground into cornmeal.

 

Propane

I know of two companies that sell propane that are not far away. I also know of roughly ten of those machines that will sell or trade propane canisters.

 

Green houses

I know of a few large scale greenhouses within a short distance.

 

Pawn shops

A huge collection of things that could be useful, from defense to chainsaws and a bunch of junk that people just didn’t want any longer.

 

Final Thoughts

I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea. Think of places that you use now and make a mental note. If it really hit the fan hard, these places could come in handy. Another idea is to get a phonebook and keep it as part of your preps.

You could also form relationships with some of these businesses now. That way if an event does unfold and they do pull through; you already have a bond with them and can barter or otherwise help each other out.

 

Is it Ever Okay to Loot or Salvage?

I think we have all seen pictures of both natural disasters and riots where there are people looting. This begs the question, is it ever okay to loot or salvage?
Maybe it’s just me, but when someone says the word “looting”, I think of someone taking advantage of a situation, taking items they wouldn’t normally be able to purchase. The term “salvage”, in my opinion, means taking things that are not in another person’s possession that are needed to survive.

Now that I have defined what the terms mean to me, let me paint a picture for you.
We all prepare for inevitable events like bad weather or power outages and other type of events. We also prepare for the larger events that, while less likely, could still happen. What if there is an event that is truly so large that it effects your entire region or country? I’m thinking something worse than Katrina. In this event there is a high death toll, public services are barely functioning and aid is very slowly trickling in.

In this scenario, you and a couple neighbors have survived. No matter how well you’re prepared, your supplies are limited and will only last so long. Would it be okay to loot/salvage?

 

Law of Necessity

I did a bit of research for this article and found reference to something called the Law of Necessity. (-The Legal Dictionary, The Free Dictionary.com states that “The necessity defense has long been recognized as Common Law and has also been made part of most states’ statutory law.”

It goes on to explain:

“Almost all common-law and statutory definitions of the necessity defense include the following elements: (1) the defendant acted to avoid a significant risk of harm; (2) no adequate lawful means could have been used to escape the harm; and (3) the harm avoided was greater than that caused by breaking the law. Some jurisdictions require in addition that the harm must have been imminent and that the action taken must have been reasonably expected to avoid the imminent danger. All these elements mirror the principles on which the defense of necessity was founded: first, that the highest social value is not always achieved by blind adherence to the law; second, that it is unjust to punish those who technically violate the letter of the law when they are acting to promote or achieve a higher social value than would be served by strict adherence to the law; and third, that it is in society’s best interest to promote the greatest good and to encourage people to seek to achieve the greatest good, even if doing so necessitates a technical breach of the law.”

 

My Take:

It appears that as long as you’re breaking the law for the greater good, you might have a legal leg to stand on. You could, however, still face civil charges. What about the morality of it? The eighth commandment says “Thou shalt not steal”. If my neighbors’ entire family was killed in this event, is taking their canned goods to feed my family or another family stealing? These are questions you should be considering now, and pray we never have to actually put to use.

Would I salvage? Yes. In an event the size that I mentioned I would salvage goods to help my family and community.

Five Things You Can Do to be Better Prepared

Below are five things that you can do to become better prepared. You might have some or all of these things already in place. If that’s the case, good for you! If not, pick one of the following and work towards it.

 

Develop a Communication Plan

Getting in touch with your loved ones in an emergency, to make sure everyone is alright, is of the utmost importance. However, in an emergency, cell phone traffic can be blocked or over-loaded. Landlines can become over-loaded as well. So, what are your options?

Texting uses far less bandwidth and can sometimes get through when a regular call would not. If you have a smart phone, you could update your status on social media or send an e-mail. Another good option is to have a long distance contact. In an emergency, if your family is separated, everyone would call this long distance contact to check in. The reason for this is that while the local lines may be bogged down, sometimes the long distance lines work and a call can go through.

I also highly recommend that you have a hard copy of all important phone numbers that are stored in your cell phone. You never know when your battery will die or you’ll lose your phone. I covered this in more detail in Low Tech Data Storage. I also covered a couple ways of simple encryption you can use to protect that data in Secure Your Personal Data with Low Tech Cryptology.
 
 
Know your weaknesses and how to mitigate them

This is possibly the most important thing you can do, both for your person and for your location. In Preparing for Physical Limitations, I cover how to examine your health and find ways to mitigate potential or existing dangers. I gave the example of my leg. Right now, if I had to bug out, my leg couldn’t go for very long. I have devised some ways to make it less of a possible liability to me.

In How to do a Threat Assessment, I explain how to discover potential or existing threats in your home, in your neighborhood and in your general area. I also explain that you should do this for your bug out routes.
 
 
Be prepared to shelter in place

I believe that in the vast majority of situations, battening down (bugging in, staying home) is the best choice. You should be prepared to support you and your family, including pets, for an absolute minimum of seven days. I do think you should be able to do so for longer, but if you don’t have enough supplies right now, make seven days your temporary goal. This means food, water, medicines, proper shelter (heat if cold out), security for each member of your family and, again, pets.
 
 
Have a bug out plan including a kit

As I said, in the vast majority of situations, battening down is a better idea. Mr. Murphy (Murphy’s Law) and his cousin Mr. Dirtbag can sometimes make it safer to leave home. For this reason you should have a BOB (Bug Out Bag)BOB (Bug Out Bag) stocked with seasonal clothes. If you do not have a BOL (Bug Out Location) I explain in Bugging Out or Battening Down? how you can pick four, one for each direction away from your home. When it is actively hitting the fan is not the time to figure out where to go and how to get there. Do this now. Pick a spot with multiple routes.
 
 
Know where you can get water and how to purify it

Aside from oxygen, water is the most important thing to human life. Don’t take your tap, the grocery store or anywhere else you buy your water, for granted. Identify the closest place you can get water. Also know how to purify it. If you do not have a water source nearby then you might consider storing more.

If you do these five things you will be further along the path to taking care of your family in an emergency situation.