MajMikeW
Member
The following is a copy of an article I wrote on my blog.
The VPA sees the 2nd Amendment as an individual right that the Bill of Rights iterates but does not grant, God has already done that. While we approve of measures to keep guns from criminals and to punish severely those who use guns in the commission of a crime, we oppose any infringement on the ability of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms, including concealed carry. We believe the two efforts are not mutually exclusive.
Last month I attended the birth of the Bay County Florida Chapter of the Veterans Party of America. I attended the meeting to see what their purpose and intent was, and having reviewed their published information on the issues and having met the good people of the party, I found myself drawn into the group.
Most Americans, at least those who are political, have at least thought about how a third political party would affect the balance of power in the halls of Congress. Many of us, disgusted with what we see from both parties in Washington, have thought "if only there was something we could do". The more knowledgeable among us remember attempts at a third party, most recently we have had Ross Perot and Ralph Nader try this. Mr. Perot bailed out at the last minute, disappointing his faithful and giving the third party push a severe black-eye. Mr. Nader, although representing a good cause, just cannot generate the momentum required to be a viable political force. Many now think the very idea of a third party is impossible to achieve.
Perhaps they are right, but I believe in America, and believe her people want a real choice when they go to the polls. Right now it's "paper or plastic?", but both bags hold the same thing, a political party who has sold their ideals for power, and who's main objective is re-election, not representing the people who sent them to Washington to look out for their best interests. With over 30,000,000 Veterans in our nation, and counting their families, friends, and people of like-mindedness, we have a voter base to pull from of half the nations population, maybe more.
The Veterans Party is a fresh attempt to create a new political party who's message is that We The People must retake our government from it's corporate masters. Americans are a very generous people, but we send billions to other nations while we have children hungry right here, elderly without proper medical care, an overburdened underfunded educational system, and our Veterans benefits are slowly eroded by our Congress. We love and respect our troops currently serving our nation, and are tired of them having to beg for the tools to do their job, or face the added danger of completing the mission with the handicap of obsolete or ineffective equipment.
While we call ourselves the Veterans Party, we seek to include all Americans who see a need for change in this country, and who believe in the ideas we set forth regarding the issues. If you are a patriot of this great nation, and want to see her regain her honor and status in the world we welcome your participation in the party. If you are tired of our government paying more attention to what goes on in the privacy of our homes than in the myriad of real problems our country is facing then we welcome you to a new choice. If you believe our children and elderly deserve to be treated with the love and respect they deserve, then we welcome you into a new paradigm.
Government is meant to be the servant of the people, our Founding Fathers called it a 'necessary evil' and warned us to be always vigilant for the signs of abuse of power. Patrick Henry once said "The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government -- lest it come to dominate our lives and interests." I, for one, believe that time has come, and if you think the same way we welcome you to a party who wants to take back the power that rightfully belongs to We The People.
It won't be easy to establish and grow a new party from the ground up, in fact if we achieve the goal of a viable party with real political power we will have changed the very fabric of our nation. The Veterans Party isn't here because it's easy, but because it's necessary, just as our Veterans have always stood up for our nation in times of trouble they rise again now. All the patriots of this land can and should stand with us, man or woman, young or old, without regard for race, creed, religion, or lifestyle choice, together we can make this happen.
The VPA sees the 2nd Amendment as an individual right that the Bill of Rights iterates but does not grant, God has already done that. While we approve of measures to keep guns from criminals and to punish severely those who use guns in the commission of a crime, we oppose any infringement on the ability of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms, including concealed carry. We believe the two efforts are not mutually exclusive.