I, Satanist

Armed and Satanist

I certainly can't (and won't) speak for all Satanists, or indeed any Satanist other than myself (hence this archive name: I, Satanist), but I am happy to expound my own thoughts about guns within this extended expository.

Let me first paint the lines within which I will delimit my exegesis, lest we venture out-of-bounds on the topic. A gun is any tube from which objects are propelled by an explosive force. This is essentially a dictionary definition of a gun (also know as a firearm).

A gun is no more than a mechanical tool with which to throw things accurately, really fast, requiring but a modicum of physical exertion from the user. This is essentially my defintion of a gun. A gun is simply a tool. Nothing more, nothing less. In the hands of a human, this tool can be wielded in a number of ways which might make it deadly. Anything with power exceeding our own physical capabilities might, in fact, be made deadly—given the right operator and the right circumstances. A gun is efficient at exacting death but it is by no means the only tool under human control capable of this (eg. much machinery maims many men).

I Satanist is, at ground level, responsible for the well being and continued existence of his corporeal form. That is, I Satanist typically does not (and should not) surrender responsibility for self-protection to someone other than the self! Yes, I Satanist does have (and should have) respect for the law and maintain the hope that, in a situation where others threaten life or limb, law enforcement is present and able to neutralize the threat. No, I Satanist does not expect protection by laws and law enforcement to guarantee his safety or the safety of loved ones.

I Satanist recognizes that (from the Seventh Satanic Statement), "man [is] just another animal who, because of his 'divine spiritual and intellectual development', has become the most vicious animal of all" and realizes he is surrounded, for the duration of his life, by potentially vicious animals. In recognition of this, he understands that anything from which man may make a weapon, will a weapon man make. Thus he seeks to balance the power dynamic by maintaining arms himself. I Satanist will not allow a monopoly of power in the hands of another. Such monopolies serve only to permit subjugation of those who are not included in the monopoly. A gun is an instrument of power. So long as guns exist, power by coercion of force is readily available to those willing to wield it. Guns will never cease to exist (that cat is out of the bag), so an equitable balance of power is necessary to maintain equilibrium. Thus, individual ownership of guns is nigh requisite for maintenance of true individual autonomy.

I Satanist subscribes to the Sixth Satanic Statement: "responsibility to the responsible" and so knows that weilding guns against the innocent and unarmed is a willful contravention of the Eleventh Satanic Rule of the Earth. A not insubstantial number of theists recognize and subscribe to the arguments for individual gun ownership as well, but many are also zealously bound to principles which foster a belief that they exist above the natural law. So, sanctified by their imaginary god, they justify use of their weaponry (power) on others with intent to punish or convert non-believers. Theists bent on the destruction of others, historically and in modernity, are a common occurrence.

I Satanist lives as do the beasts of the earth and in so doing, evolves as do the beasts. When nature evolves to the claw, wield the claw. When nature evolves to the fang, wield the fang. When nature evolves to the gun, wield the gun. Where does nature evolve to next? Wheresoever, expect I Satanist to be there as well.

Hell, even Doktor LaVey himself was known to carry a trusted .45 around¹...