text: Immunity for whistleblowers At a campaign rally, Paul said that whistleblowers are "the ones who need immunity." Alluding to Daniel Ellsberg and Chelsea Manning, Paul said, "So if we have an American citizen and is willing to take the consequences and practice civil disobedience and say this is what our government's doing, should he be locked up and in prison, or should we see him as a political hero? Maybe he is a true patriot who reveals what's going on in government." However, Paul voted against the Offshore Oil and Gas Worker Whistleblower Protection Act of 2010.
  Gun laws
  Paul has been a lead sponsor of legislation in Congress attempting to maintain individual Second Amendment rights. He has also fought for the right of pilots to be armed.
  In the first chapter of his book, Freedom Under Siege, Paul argued that the purpose of the Second Amendment is to place a check on government tyranny, not to merely grant hunting rights or allow self-defense. When asked whether individuals should be allowed to own machine guns, Paul responded, "Whether it's an automatic weapon or not is, I think, irrelevant." Paul also argues that weapons bans only keep them out of the hands of law-abiding citizens, not dangerous criminals. He sees school shootings, plane hijackings, and other such events as a result of prohibitions on self-defense.  He supports the right of citizens to carry concealed weapons if they are legally owned.