CORRESPONDENCErnLetter FromrnPraguernby Stephen P. HalbrookrnThe Firearm as arnSymbol of FreedomrnI am overwhelmed by the sight of thernsmall monument shaped like a gravestonern—inseribed Obetem Komunismurn(“Sacrificed to Communism”)—surroundedrnby flowers and pictures ofrnmartyrs from the 1948-1989 period inrnCzechoslovakia’s history. Looking up,rnone sees the statue of St. Wenceslas andrnthe Czech National Museum at the endrnof the wide boulevard forever searedrninto the world’s consciousness by thernPrague Spring of 1968. One sensesrnthe ghosts of the Soviet tanks and hearsrnthe faint echo of the machine-gun firernthat killed the brave—and unarmed—rnfreedom fighters.rnIt is now 1994, the fifth year sincernliberation swept Eastern Europe.rnCzechoslovakia is now divided into thernCzech Republic and Slovakia. From therngravestone I look left, and there it is—rna colorful sign of a semiautomatic pistolrnadvertising Kozap-Praha, one of thernCzech Republic’s many new firearmsrnstores. I came upon this gun shop withinrntwo minutes of walking out of therntrain station, having just arrived fromrnNuremberg, Germany. You can selectrnfrom a nice array of CZ, Beretta, Colt,rnand Smith and Wesson pistols andrnrevolvers, as well as .22 rifles, center firernhunting rifles, and shotguns.rnMow symbolic—the new Czech rightrnto keep and bear arms is just as much arnherald of the death of tyranny as is therngranite obituary to the dead. At the veryrntime the United States Congress was votingrnto ban any firearm magazine holdingrnover 10 cartridges, citizens of the postcommunistrnbloc were purchasing pistolsrnwith magazines holding as many as 17rncartridges. It seems as if freedom isrnbreaking out all over the world … exceptrnin America.rnThe gun shop clerk (who knew aboutrnas much English as I knew Czech)rnexplained the one legal requirement forrnpurchasing a pistol—he muttered somethingrnabout “police” and made a stampingrnmotion with his hand. Get yourrnpaperwork stamped, a routine formalityrnfor any law-abiding person, pay Czechrncrowns (Visa and Master Card are alsornaccepted), and the pistol is yours. Notrnperfect freedom, but few people complain,rnfor it was not long ago that allrnfirearms were banned for everyone save arnfew Communist Party hacks.rnThe bookstore just across from myrnpension displays R.L. Wilson’s Colt:rnAn American Legend (not in English,rnof course) and gun magazines and booksrnin Czech. (Few Czechs I encounteredrnspoke any English, which is just now beingrnwidely taught. Some, particularlyrnolder people, speak a little German,rnwhich made life easy for me: my closestrncompanion was a Czech-German phrasernbook. The second language is a result ofrnthe occupation: Russian.)rnI am on a train ride to Brno. Rushingrnby is a hunting stand with roof andrnwalls—European comfort. The manrnacross from me speaks only Czech. Asrnwe pass through forested hills, I draw arnstag and point out the window, inquiringrnwith my expression, how is the huntingrnhere? He shakes his head “yes” andrnmakes like firing a rifle. He enthusiasticallyrnsketches a wild boar, rabbit, andrngoat, rapidly explaining in a language Irndo not understand, but I get the impressionrnthat the country is crawling withrnMemorial to communism’s victims.rnlANUARY 1995/33rnrnrn