said he wished he could grow up so thatrnhe could have a gun. Apparently, Koreshrngave investigators who came to therncompound a complete and peaceful tourrnand willingly answered questions.rnThe affidavit also misquotes the lawrnso that it appears that materials whichrncould form explosi’es (found in any largernkitchen and all garden stores) are illegal.rnThey are not, unless the intent to make arnbomb is there, which is the only thing therncomplaint or warrant alleges, althoughrnno support for such intent is given inrnthe affidavit. Moreover, according tornthe affidavit, all of Koresh’s suppliers hadrnbeen investigated, only to find that whatrnthey had, and had sent to Davidians, wasrnlegal and untouchable by the ATF (anotherrn”loophole in the law”).rnThe most damning evidence in the affidavitrnwas that Koresh “stated hernthought gun-control laws were ludicrous,”rnthat he “believed in the right tornbear arms but that the U.S. Governmentrnwas going to take away that right,” andrnthat he showed the undercover investigatorrna videotape made by others whichrn”portrayed the ATF as an agency whornviolated the rights of gun owners byrnthreats and lies” (a portrayal that now appearsrnto be a gross understatement).rnThe conclusion of the affidavit was thatrnKoresh lived in a “secret environment,”rnand that it is “my experience that personsrnwho acquire firearms, firearm parts,rnand explosive materials” live in such environments.rnBut, however stupid the affidavit andrnbungled the attempt, the ATF “was onlyrntrying to serve a warrant,” right?rnWrong. Ignoring the uncontested factsrnthat local authorities had served warrantsrnon Koresh before and had calledrnhim in for questioning with no problem,rnand that Koresh came into town regularlyrnand peaceably for supplies, all of whichrnwas reported to the ATF by local authorities,rnthe ATF continued to prepare forrnwhat could only appear to be a firststrike,rnall-out assault on the complex.rnThe following account of the events ofrnthe first fatal day is compiled from affidavitsrnand televised statements of Davidianrnsurvivors, ATF members, local authorities,rnand media witnesses. On thernmorning of February 28, an ATF helicopterrncircled the complex and fired intornthe communal dining room, killingrnone Davidian at breakfast. Almost simultaneously,rnthe ATF agents jumpedrnout of their tarp-covered trucks in frontrnof the complex and fired repeatedly atrnthe front of the thin-walled buildings,rnthrough the windows, and at every Davidianrnin sight. Other ATF agents usedrntheir ladders to climb on the roof andrnthrow grenades. No one approached therndoor. There was no ATF sound truck orrnbullhorn announcing a warrant, not tornmention a simple cellular phone call tornthe complex. David Koresh came out ofrnthe front door and, unarmed, shoutedrn”Stop! Stop!” and waved his hands overrnhis head. He was then wounded twice.rnAn elderly Davidian tried to drag himrnaway but was killed, as were other exposedrnmembers elsewhere.rnKoresh and other Davidians called 911rnfor help from the authorities. Theyrntalked to Sheriff Lynch of McLennanrnCounty, who in turn tried to contact thernATF by both radio and telephone to stoprnthe shooting. The ATF radio operatorrnfailed to respond. The ATF telephonernwent unanswered. (According to thernHouse subcommittee investigating thernmassacre, the tape of the frantic 911rnphone call was edited, and critical partsrnof it were erased, apparently while it vyasrnin the possession of the FBI. Fortunately,rnthe original is still in the possession ofrnthe local authorities.) At some time duringrnthis commotion the Davidians returnedrnfire, killing four invaders andrnwounding 16. The ATF then withdrewrnand laid siege. This entire sequence ofrnevents is what the contemptible TVrnmovie about the ordeal described as anrn”ambush” by Koresh.rnLet’s clarify the events for the slowerrnmembers of the media: there was no attemptrnby the ATF to serve a warrant,rnjust an illegal and bloody attack onrnAmerican citizens. Texas law, as well asrnfederal law, gives no protection to membersrnof a law-enforcement agency, in orrnout of uniform, when, without haingrnwitnessed a felony in progress and not inrn”hot pursuit” of a fugitive, and withoutrnattempting to serve a warrant or placingrnanyone under arrest, they fire on a citizenrnwho offers no direct threat. The victimrnhas every legal right to return fire. Anyrndeaths that occur in this exchange arernlaid at the door of the attacker.rnEnter the FBI. But hrst a note to readersrnwho are biased by their dislike ofrnthe laws or practices of Texas. It is thernimplied accusation of “stockpilingrnweapons” that makes the national anchorpersonsrnall a-flutter with indignationrnagainst Davidians. Most, if not almostrnall, Texans own firearms. A largernminority, if not a majority, of Texansrnhave gun collections, meaning a dozenrnor more firearms: rifles, semi-automaticrnrifles (so-called assault rifles), shotguns,rnand pistols. 1 do myself, as do my neighborsrnand several friends.rnSuch ownership is, and always hasrnbeen, protected by Texas law. MaybernTexas, unlike some states, can read andrnunderstand the Second Amendment.rnThe Texas Constitution (officially approvedrnby the I’nited States government)rnis even more explicit: “Every citizenrnshall have the right to keep and bearrnarms in the lawful defense of himself orrnthe State.” This clause has consistentlyrnbeen interpreted by the Texas SupremernCourt to include defense against governmentalrntyranny and to cover bothrnmilitary and civilian firearms. Stockpilingrnguns is more common in Texas thanrncollecting stamps, butterflies, or baseballrntrading cards, all put together. Callrnthis Texas gun-hoarding custom a “macho,”rn”Bubba,” or “Redneck” thing. I’mrninclined to attribute it to long historicalrnmemories.rnTexans remember our defense againstrnSanta Anna and later against the UnionrnArmy, in the first of which our privatern”stockpiles” won our independence as arnnation and in the second of which ourrn”stockpiles” kept the Northern Army outrnof Texas until after the war, despite fivernall-out attempts at invasion. Our privatern”stockpiles” also helped Texas overthrowrnthe Reconstruction governor longrnafter carpetbag rule had been peaceablyrnlifted in every other Southern state.rnKoresh’s group probably intendedrnthese weapons for self-defense, howeverrnmam gun shows they had participated inrnand profited from. Did they have anyrnreason to believe they might somedayrnbe illegally attacked? They had been before,rnby a rival group. This time it was brnthe federal government. Is that possibilityrnof illegal or unconstitutional attack,rnrather than the sports of target and skeetrnshooting, perhaps the reason for the SecondrnAmendment? Of course, Koresh’srngroup was caught embarrassingly short ofrnHowitzers and anti-tank missiles duringrnthe final assault.rnEnter the FBI, who saw what we sawrnon TV, who knows the laws, who couldrnhave demanded to see the warrant andrnaffidavit and then closed their briefcasesrnand gone home to begin the pretrial investigationrnof the A T F leaders of thernconspiracy. Instead, the FBI themselvesrnlaid siege to the Daidian victims andrnlent their services to the ATF cover-up,rnOCTOBER 1993/45rnrnrn