A
AnklePocket
Guest
I'm one of four speakers on Tuesday. Won't be a huge crowd, maybe 30 at the most, but it should be fun. Here's my part:
The Right to Keep and Bear Arms. What does that mean, really? Why is it important? And what would happen if we eliminated the Second Amendment? My opponents have tried to convince you of the false hope promised by an impossible utopia. I'll focus more on fact and logic throughout my discussion.
Let's first discuss semantics. "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." "Militia" refers to "all able bodied men." "People" as it also appears everywhere else in the Constitution refers to "us". And "shall not be infringed" means "shall not be infringed.".
The important thing to note is that we all want the same thing: that is, safety and our continued way of life. There are three types of controllers:
1. Those who are misinformed who think that they're doing the right thing.
2. Those who project their own fears of what they would do with a gun if they had one. And
3. Politicians who use gun-control to scare people into voting a certain way.
So where did this all start? After all, a few decades ago we could all buy a handgun from the Sears catalog and see an episode of "Leave it to Beaver" with Beaver handling firearms with his girlfriend's father. Modern day gun-control began with the rash of assassinations and inner city riots of the 1960's. Clearly, these incidents had absolutely nothing to do with the law-abiding gun owner, but politicians jumped on it to pretend that they're actually doing something about these tremendous problems.
Continued efforts to undermine the Second Amendment threaten the core concept of liberty. You see, the Right to Keep and Bear Arms isn't about guns - it's about our inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Millions of Americans see the right to protect themselves and their families as their single most important civil right (whether they exercise that right or not). It's a form of choice.
Additionally, the Second Amendment keeps hostile foreign forces foreign and keeps our government from becoming hostile.
Our Founding Fathers understood all of this when they drafted the Constitution. Every Article and Amendment is crucial. Our Founders conducted a grand experiment to create the most fertile environment possible for the human spirit to flourish. They suggested that we were all born with certain inalienable rights and the Second Amendment is their ultimate safeguard.
The Constitution doesn't give us these rights. We already have them. The Constitution just ensures that our federal government can't take them away. There was significant opposition to the Constitution over 200 years ago as probably the same ratio of people then as today were afraid of the personal responsibility that freedom requires.
What would happen if our Constitution does erode, though? 1920's Germany was a mess. The economy was in ruins and several political parties were jockying for position.
Continued:
The Right to Keep and Bear Arms. What does that mean, really? Why is it important? And what would happen if we eliminated the Second Amendment? My opponents have tried to convince you of the false hope promised by an impossible utopia. I'll focus more on fact and logic throughout my discussion.
Let's first discuss semantics. "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." "Militia" refers to "all able bodied men." "People" as it also appears everywhere else in the Constitution refers to "us". And "shall not be infringed" means "shall not be infringed.".
The important thing to note is that we all want the same thing: that is, safety and our continued way of life. There are three types of controllers:
1. Those who are misinformed who think that they're doing the right thing.
2. Those who project their own fears of what they would do with a gun if they had one. And
3. Politicians who use gun-control to scare people into voting a certain way.
So where did this all start? After all, a few decades ago we could all buy a handgun from the Sears catalog and see an episode of "Leave it to Beaver" with Beaver handling firearms with his girlfriend's father. Modern day gun-control began with the rash of assassinations and inner city riots of the 1960's. Clearly, these incidents had absolutely nothing to do with the law-abiding gun owner, but politicians jumped on it to pretend that they're actually doing something about these tremendous problems.
Continued efforts to undermine the Second Amendment threaten the core concept of liberty. You see, the Right to Keep and Bear Arms isn't about guns - it's about our inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Millions of Americans see the right to protect themselves and their families as their single most important civil right (whether they exercise that right or not). It's a form of choice.
Additionally, the Second Amendment keeps hostile foreign forces foreign and keeps our government from becoming hostile.
Our Founding Fathers understood all of this when they drafted the Constitution. Every Article and Amendment is crucial. Our Founders conducted a grand experiment to create the most fertile environment possible for the human spirit to flourish. They suggested that we were all born with certain inalienable rights and the Second Amendment is their ultimate safeguard.
The Constitution doesn't give us these rights. We already have them. The Constitution just ensures that our federal government can't take them away. There was significant opposition to the Constitution over 200 years ago as probably the same ratio of people then as today were afraid of the personal responsibility that freedom requires.
What would happen if our Constitution does erode, though? 1920's Germany was a mess. The economy was in ruins and several political parties were jockying for position.
Continued:
