Of course, the movement against Second Amendment rights is not just a threat to our capacity to defend ourselves physically against tyranny and discipline our government, if necessary, so that it remains a fit instrument for the self-government of a free people. It is also part of the much more general assault on the very notion that human beings are capable of moral responsibility.
Gun gun control advocates substitute things for people, but this approach won’t wash. It is the human moral will that saves us from violence, not the presence or absence of weapons. We should reject utterly the absurd notion that weapons are the cause of violence. We must recapture the noble view of man as capable of moral responsibility, and self-restraint. Purify the heart and we will not have to worry about the misuse of weapons. If we want to hold on to our heritage of liberty, we must first and foremost strengthen our confidence in our own moral capacity, and encourage such confidence in our fellow citizens. Only a people confident that it can behave like grown-ups will be justified in asserting its right to keep and bear arms, because it will be a people responsible to use them only in defense of ourselves and our liberty.
Thank you all. A fine civil discussion on a difficult,emotionally charged subject.
