The whole premise of a mother-may-I approach to licensing activities like owning and carrying firearms is that the powers that be will honor the documents of those lucky enough to receive permission after agreeing to pretend that their rights are privileges. If, instead, officialdom laughs at the licenses it issues and penalizes people foolish enough to take them seriously, there's no point submitting to the humiliating process of begging indulgence from government officials to begin with.

This brings us to the trend of Chicago police arresting legal gun owners, even though they possessed and showed documents allowing them to own and carry firearms.

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