Food for thought: As written by our forefathers, the right to keep and bear arms is only preceded in importance by the right to speak.
When the constitution was being written, the debates around its wording were mostly about “mal-administration of the the government.”
These men had experienced tyranny under the British, they understood that what they were creating was “necessary to the security of a free State.” They were not talking about hunting when they were writing the Second Amendment (although we can’t blame them, it was a much bigger part of our culture than it is now and they would think it crazy to need to protect the right to hunt), they were writing future generations a never-ending stack of “Get Out of Tyranny Free Cards.”
As stated in the constitution, the militia is meant to be a defense against tyranny. This tyranny could come in many forms, and one theoretical form of tyranny is the government forgetting their place.
The fifth Vice President of the United States, Elbridge Gerry, said Whenever Governments mean to invade the rights and liberties of the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia, in order to raise an army upon their ruins. The militia is the People. The American people were meant to defend themselves. Allow me to explain.
The United States Code states The classes of the militia are: (1) the organized militia, which consists of the National Guard and the Naval Militia; and (2) the unorganized militia, which consists of the members of the militia who are not members of the National Guard or the Naval Militia. The Dick Act (aka the Militia Act of 1903) pretty much places the organized militia under control of the government, allowing the President to call up Guardsmen for any amount of time “to repel invasion, suppress rebellion, or enforce federal laws.”
Considering that the government already has relative control over the organized militia, if there were someone who wished to completely take away our freedom the only thing protecting us is the unorganized militia. The United States Code defines ‘militia’ as all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and...under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States. So the unorganized militia is every able-bodied man between 17 and 45 years of age who isn’t a part of the organized militia. We, the American people, are responsible for defending ourselves from tyranny.
Gun control advocates think that they are mitigating bloodshed by stepping on our Second Amendment rights. The only effect of this infringement is diminishing the power of law-abiding citizens in the United States. This is an undeniable truth.
The only people unrestricted by gun control are people who do not follow our laws: criminals. Organized groups of criminals that violently oppress entire communities in the U.S., commonly known as “gangs,” are responsible for up to 90% of violent crime in some areas. Across the United States gangs cause an average of 48% of the violent crime. This means that nearly HALF of all unjust violence in the United States is committed by GANGS (which we have already established as organized groups of people that don’t follow our country’s laws). So why do gun control advocates think that laws provide the answer to America’s violent crime problem?
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| Just to clarify, mass murders account for less than 1% of all homicides, but you get the idea. |
Police in some communities have developed ways to disrupt gang activity, but they can’t stop it completely. Laws which erode the Constitution, the foundation of our country, fail miserably to stop the bloodshed. By limiting law-abiding citzens’ ability to keep and bear arms, gun control advocates are protecting the very thing they are fighting against. The only thing that can stop gang activity in its tracks is the People. Americans must stage a two-pronged attack to stop this tyranny running rampant on our streets.
The first prong is parenting. Gangs get their power from youth, and they get their power over youth by providing things that should come from family. If the American people can provide their children with a happy home and strong values, then we have effectively stripped gangs of their power. The second prong is where people get skittish. If the American people can come to terms with the necessity of guns, we can sweep our country of this criminal movement and simultaneously strengthen our defense against tyranny. We must be able to meet these threats head on and the only way to do so is by being principled and fierce. Our principles have degraded and our fierceness is in all the wrong places.
Tench Coxe, a representative of Pennsylvania to the Continental Congress, wrote Their swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birth-right of an American ...the unlimited power of the sword is not in the hands of either the federal or state governments, but, where I trust in God it will ever remain, in the hands of the people. Americans are stewards of something greater than themselves, and as such have a responsibility to defend this Great American Experiment. Instead, some Americans are ignorant of their birthright, and that ignorance leads to fear and scorn of that which we can use to protect ourselves. These fearful people then try to disarm those around them, unknowingly eroding their own defenses.
Firearms were once indispensable tools of the American people, used to provide for and defend their family and community. Criminals have taken that idea of guns and turned it into an idea of fear, loss, and anger. Whether we like it or not, the streets of our country have become a battlefield and we must defend ourselves. Another excerpt from Tench Coxe’s writings is this: The militia of these free commonwealths, entitled and accustomed to their arms, when compared with any possible army, must be tremendous and irresistible. Who are the militia? Are they not ourselves? We must be entitled to our weapons and accustomed to their use. We have to have guns and we have to know how to use them. We must teach our children to be decent and conscientious, and we must teach the People the importance of keeping and bearing arms.
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