Defending Historical Selection: Why Event is Important?
David Koresh
Reason 1 In the final day of Waco, 80 people died and 25 were hurt when the ATF raided the Branch Davidian. This was done after a long and drawn out stand off between David Koresh and law enforcement. The ATF, who had been doing surveillance for months, now thought that they had illegal firearms on the premises and wanted to seize them. The government’s credibility and integrity was compromised because instead of just arresting David Koresh, they just killed everyone in the building while at the same time destroying all key evidence. Years after the raid, people are questioning the governments actions and asking if there were even stockpiles of illegal weapons or if this was just a massacre to arrest a single person (Williams, 1999).
Reason 2 This event was most important because Branch Davidian was a compound of religious people that lived outside the norm of a typical lifestyle and needed to be handled more carefully. This group had specific beliefs and practices that would not be accepted in a normal life such as marrying multiple women, having an abundance of children, and having intercourse with men and women of all ages. Since this group was not particularly accepted in the real world, the ATF had to make sure that they didn’t make mistakes that would lead to accusations of discrimination and profiling. In the end, the way the ATF handled the situation has been publicly scrutinized and picked apart by the government as well as American citizens (Williams, 1999).
Reason 3 This event is also important because it questions the idea behind your right to own a gun. The ATF and Government knew that David Koresh had many guns and explosives on his compound, but did not have significant evidence of this. This can be seen as profiling, because many people own an arsenal of guns and the ATF does not target them. This shows the lack of respect the government has on specific groups owning firearms, and questioning whether this group was singled out, or if they are actively doing this to everyone.
What happened?
The Waco siege lasted 51 days. It started on February 28th, 1993 when the ATF and FBI tried to serve a warrant to search the Davidian Ranch in suspicion of an arsenal of firearms. After months of surveillance, the ATF came to the realization that the group was stockpiling illegal weapons and that there were many allegations of sexual abuse. David Koresh believed in protecting his people, and stockpiling guns was what he ordered his group to do. He thought that if anyone tried to hurt his people, or the compound, they needed all the protection they could get. Koresh had also a long history of sexual abuse from minors to senior citizens. He also married and slept with many women who all fathered his children (Rifkind, 1994).
Who was involved?
David Koresh, the leader of the Branch Davidian Church, led a group called the Seven-day Adventists. This group was a radial and dangerous religious cult that ballooned when David Koresh took over in Waco, Texas. They were founded around 1935 when Victor Houteff, a Bulgarian immigrant, broke off from his religion because he found a different meaning in the readings of the book of Ezekiel and Revelation. When Victor moved away, he founded Branch Davidian in Waco Texas to teach his rendition of the religion. After many leaders, David Koresh took over the branch (McMurtry,1993).
Challenges/Problems? The ATF did not have a substantial amount of proof of the illegal firearms. The Branch of Davidian owned a gun store call the Mag Bag where there were mean shipments of guns everyday. The ATF realized that these guns were being brought the ranch in abundance. David Koresh had signed off on many boxes of guns that had come in the mail. The problem with these allegations made by the ATF was that they were saying that the guns were being purchased through the business and being brought directly to the Davidian compound and modified into illegal firearms. The ATF thought the store was a front to stockpile weapons, an allegation that was never confirmed. This is the reason why after they raided the compound and killed many people; they quickly were scrutinized for murdering innocent people when they did not have hard evidence that this illegal activity was going on.
Defending Historical Selection: Why Event is Important?
Reason 1In the final day of Waco, 80 people died and 25 were hurt when the ATF raided the Branch Davidian. This was done after a long and drawn out stand off between David Koresh and law enforcement. The ATF, who had been doing surveillance for months, now thought that they had illegal firearms on the premises and wanted to seize them. The government’s credibility and integrity was compromised because instead of just arresting David Koresh, they just killed everyone in the building while at the same time destroying all key evidence. Years after the raid, people are questioning the governments actions and asking if there were even stockpiles of illegal weapons or if this was just a massacre to arrest a single person (Williams, 1999).
Reason 2
This event was most important because Branch Davidian was a compound of religious people that lived outside the norm of a typical lifestyle and needed to be handled more carefully. This group had specific beliefs and practices that would not be accepted in a normal life such as marrying multiple women, having an abundance of children, and having intercourse with men and women of all ages. Since this group was not particularly accepted in the real world, the ATF had to make sure that they didn’t make mistakes that would lead to accusations of discrimination and profiling. In the end, the way the ATF handled the situation has been publicly scrutinized and picked apart by the government as well as American citizens (Williams, 1999).
Reason 3
This event is also important because it questions the idea behind your right to own a gun. The ATF and Government knew that David Koresh had many guns and explosives on his compound, but did not have significant evidence of this. This can be seen as profiling, because many people own an arsenal of guns and the ATF does not target them. This shows the lack of respect the government has on specific groups owning firearms, and questioning whether this group was singled out, or if they are actively doing this to everyone.
What happened?
The Waco siege lasted 51 days. It started on February 28th, 1993 when the ATF and FBI tried to serve a warrant to search the Davidian Ranch in suspicion of an arsenal of firearms. After months of surveillance, the ATF came to the realization that the group was stockpiling illegal weapons and that there were many allegations of sexual abuse. David Koresh believed in protecting his people, and stockpiling guns was what he ordered his group to do. He thought that if anyone tried to hurt his people, or the compound, they needed all the protection they could get. Koresh had also a long history of sexual abuse from minors to senior citizens. He also married and slept with many women who all fathered his children (Rifkind, 1994).
Who was involved?
David Koresh, the leader of the Branch Davidian Church, led a group called the Seven-day Adventists. This group was a radial and dangerous religious cult that ballooned when David Koresh took over in Waco, Texas. They were founded around 1935 when Victor Houteff, a Bulgarian immigrant, broke off from his religion because he found a different meaning in the readings of the book of Ezekiel and Revelation. When Victor moved away, he founded Branch Davidian in Waco Texas to teach his rendition of the religion. After many leaders, David Koresh took over the branch (McMurtry,1993).Challenges/Problems?
The ATF did not have a substantial amount of proof of the illegal firearms. The Branch of Davidian owned a gun store call the Mag Bag where there were mean shipments of guns everyday. The ATF realized that these guns were being brought the ranch in abundance. David Koresh had signed off on many boxes of guns that had come in the mail. The problem with these allegations made by the ATF was that they were saying that the guns were being purchased through the business and being brought directly to the Davidian compound and modified into illegal firearms. The ATF thought the store was a front to stockpile weapons, an allegation that was never confirmed. This is the reason why after they raided the compound and killed many people; they quickly were scrutinized for murdering innocent people when they did not have hard evidence that this illegal activity was going on.