In the first of a two-part think piece, John Longenecker makes the case for the abolition of all gun laws as a way to preserve the sovereignty of the individual under the American system of government. Even a little “common sense” gun control is the camel’s nose under the tent, a first step in transferring the supreme authority away from the citizen to the state. But he doesn’t stop there. As he sees it, de-controlling guns is also a way to shrink the overarching, overweening leviathan that is the federal government. “When the sovereignty of the citizen is officially acknowledged…you get a handle on revenues and spending. You can actually reduce the size of government if gun control is repealed and sovereignty is affirmed.” So is this the magic bullet issue the Tea Party has needed? Is expanding gun ownership an act of budgetary hygiene? Can we get our fiscal house in order by abolishing gun control?