Column for March 15, 2007

Protect the 2nd Amendment

For those of you who follow my column and/or blog, you know that I am a huge advocate for liberty. I don't care who you are, as long as you are on American soil and are here legally, I believe that you are blessed with a great amount of freedom. The key in this nation is to preserve those freedoms. Even if we are "endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights", we still must be vigilant about preservation of those rights.

If the Declaration of Independence is correct and these rights are given by God, not man, then man must not infringe upon the rights of fellow citizens. Unfortunately, history is replete with despots, dictators, and freedom haters. Men love to exert control over other men. What amazes me is that we actually elect people who would abridge our civil liberties.

I was only a tot when "Mr. Conservative", Barry Goldwater was serving in the U.S. Senate. Though interested in politics and civics, I was not as aware of the national political climate as I am now, as a middle aged man. Thus, I was not as aware of Goldwater's politics as I am now. I have read his book, "Conscience of a Conservative" and seen documentaries about his life. One thing that I loved about Goldwater was his unwavering dedication to the principles of liberty. There are a few areas in which we disagree, namely abortion and gay rights. Those areas, not being enumerated in the U.S. Constitution and being public situational ethics issues, are not a matter of liberty to me.

One issue that is a sore subject with me is the Second Amendment debate. For years, I have seen the debate of the right to keep and bear arms rage on. There are those who would attempt to interpret the text of the simple amendment to mean that only the military should have weapons, not the public. Of course one has to bend the meaning and read into the text in order to arrive at that conclusion. It is the same way with the right to have an abortion. It is not in the Constitution and one has to make that up.

Others believe just what the amendment says, meaning the words "shall not be infringed" means just that. I would simply say, "What part of shall not be infringed do you not understand?" James Madison thought it so important that he originally wanted to have the text inserted into the main body of the new constitution rather than be an amendment added as part of the "Bill of Rights". I am a firearms enthusiast and fully support the Second Amendment.

There is currently proposed in Congress H.R. 1022, the "Assault Weapons Ban and Law Enforcement Protection Act of 2007". Real so called "assault weapons" have been highly regulated and generally illegal for the average citizen to own since the 1930's. It is sheer ignorance, fear, and efforts to control that lead to gun bans. I have handled many of the guns on the list that some in Congress want to ban. The proposed ban is not to protect law enforcement, it is control law abiding citizens. Criminals do not abide by the law, which is the definition of a criminal.

I am thankful that the previous Congress allowed the original "assault weapons ban" to expire without renewal. Now, with a Democrat controlled Congress, we are again seeing attempts to infringe upon YOUR rights. My advice is to get all the guns you can now before a Democrat is elected President and signs a bill that would infringe upon your rights, offend people like Barry Goldwater, and make me want to get on a rooftop with a so called assault weapon. [edited at request of paper's editor to read "makes me fully comprehend why the writers of the Constitution felt that the citizenry should be armed in the first place."

The infringement of gun rights, however, is not limited just to our federal government. I have seen such infringement happen by our own Johnston County and state governments. With action and vigilance, perhaps liberty will be restored and preserved.

Please don't form opinions about issues such as this out of emotion, ignorance, or irrational fear. Get educated. If you support the 2nd Amendment, join a group like Gun Owners of America and contact your elected representatives. Get involved and preserve freedom.