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Saving the 2nd Amendment: A National Effort
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
Saving the 2nd
Amendment:
A National Effort
by Jennifer Freeman
When politicians are sworn into office, they are sworn to uphold the United Stated Constitution. Many politicians do not uphold their oath, in these modern times, however. And, as a general populous, our expectations of politicians have been reduced to hopes. We cast our vote at the ballot box and keep our fingers crossed, hoping that we made the right choice. Many of us don't even try that hard, preferring to abstain from the electoral process altogether.
How can we, as citizens, expect our politicians to behave in a manner worthy of the U.S. Constitution if we do not even hold ourselves to such standards?
Don't we have an obligation to vote for the candidate most likely to uphold the Constitution, regardless of whether or not we think s/he can win? Do we not also have an obligation to speak up on issues like the Second Amendment, regardless of whether or not we think we can change minds? Are we not obligated to support our fellow brothers and sisters, our fellow patriots, who have worked so hard to make a positive change for this country by supporting the Second Amendment? Case in point: Silveira vs. Lockyer and the variety of pro-Second Amendment legislation that is being put forth for us.
Gun owners have been begging for years for someone to take the Second Amendment to the U.S. Supreme Court and resolve this issue once and for all. Well, the case has been presented and it may very well be accepted and heard by SCOTUS. But it will take more than just being right to win this case. It will take money to prepare and present the case. Our fellow patriots are doing all of the work and taking all of the risks. All we have to do is write a check.
A few of our legislators have drafted federal bills that could save our Second Amendment rights at a national level. Again, our fellow patriots in the legislature are doing all of the hard work and taking all of the risks. All we have to do is support and promote such legislation.
In both cases we have everything to lose by not acting and everything to gain if we win.
It was John Jacob Astor who coined the phrase, "If you want something done right, do it yourself." Putting the Second Amendment first must be a national priority at the household level. If you are not willing to do something to support your rights, why should your neighbor do anything either? If all of us were making the phone calls and putting the money where are liberties are, our Second Amendment rights would not be in such jeopardy. It is obvious, therefore, that many people are seeking comfort in the idea that someone else will send the postcard and someone else will write the check. But it isn't happening.
This results in yet another excuse. That being the apathetic, "Nothing I do will make a difference. The Constitution is dead. Our rights are already gone."
Baloney! The U.S. Constitution is alive and worth fighting for! The Second Amendment can be restored, but only if each of us works at an individual level. And that means sacrifice.
Let's face it. You work hard all week. You're a very busy person. You pay more than your fair share of taxes. And when the week is done, you want to do something for you. Go to dinner, see a movie, and enjoy some time with those close to you. No one would argue that you deserve to enjoy the fruits of your labor during what little free time you have.
The work week does not end at 5:00 on Friday, however. The work does not end until we have made our contribution to save our rights. Saving our rights, your rights, is something that you do for yourself and for your loved ones. It is also a way to repay a debt that has been laid in blood by our founding fathers and generations after them. It is our way of upholding the U.S. Constitution. And we have a responsibility to behave in a manner worthy of our liberties.
http://www.libertybelles.org/articles/savingthe2ndamendment.htm
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878<P>
Amendment:
A National Effort
by Jennifer Freeman
When politicians are sworn into office, they are sworn to uphold the United Stated Constitution. Many politicians do not uphold their oath, in these modern times, however. And, as a general populous, our expectations of politicians have been reduced to hopes. We cast our vote at the ballot box and keep our fingers crossed, hoping that we made the right choice. Many of us don't even try that hard, preferring to abstain from the electoral process altogether.
How can we, as citizens, expect our politicians to behave in a manner worthy of the U.S. Constitution if we do not even hold ourselves to such standards?
Don't we have an obligation to vote for the candidate most likely to uphold the Constitution, regardless of whether or not we think s/he can win? Do we not also have an obligation to speak up on issues like the Second Amendment, regardless of whether or not we think we can change minds? Are we not obligated to support our fellow brothers and sisters, our fellow patriots, who have worked so hard to make a positive change for this country by supporting the Second Amendment? Case in point: Silveira vs. Lockyer and the variety of pro-Second Amendment legislation that is being put forth for us.
Gun owners have been begging for years for someone to take the Second Amendment to the U.S. Supreme Court and resolve this issue once and for all. Well, the case has been presented and it may very well be accepted and heard by SCOTUS. But it will take more than just being right to win this case. It will take money to prepare and present the case. Our fellow patriots are doing all of the work and taking all of the risks. All we have to do is write a check.
A few of our legislators have drafted federal bills that could save our Second Amendment rights at a national level. Again, our fellow patriots in the legislature are doing all of the hard work and taking all of the risks. All we have to do is support and promote such legislation.
In both cases we have everything to lose by not acting and everything to gain if we win.
It was John Jacob Astor who coined the phrase, "If you want something done right, do it yourself." Putting the Second Amendment first must be a national priority at the household level. If you are not willing to do something to support your rights, why should your neighbor do anything either? If all of us were making the phone calls and putting the money where are liberties are, our Second Amendment rights would not be in such jeopardy. It is obvious, therefore, that many people are seeking comfort in the idea that someone else will send the postcard and someone else will write the check. But it isn't happening.
This results in yet another excuse. That being the apathetic, "Nothing I do will make a difference. The Constitution is dead. Our rights are already gone."
Baloney! The U.S. Constitution is alive and worth fighting for! The Second Amendment can be restored, but only if each of us works at an individual level. And that means sacrifice.
Let's face it. You work hard all week. You're a very busy person. You pay more than your fair share of taxes. And when the week is done, you want to do something for you. Go to dinner, see a movie, and enjoy some time with those close to you. No one would argue that you deserve to enjoy the fruits of your labor during what little free time you have.
The work week does not end at 5:00 on Friday, however. The work does not end until we have made our contribution to save our rights. Saving our rights, your rights, is something that you do for yourself and for your loved ones. It is also a way to repay a debt that has been laid in blood by our founding fathers and generations after them. It is our way of upholding the U.S. Constitution. And we have a responsibility to behave in a manner worthy of our liberties.
http://www.libertybelles.org/articles/savingthe2ndamendment.htm
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878<P>
Comments
By Jennifer Freeman
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -- Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759
And yet that is exactly what gun-ban organizations want you to do. Lock and unload. Ban them. Turn them in. If not by choice, then by force. If not through Congress, then through the courts. And they have the nerve to cite safety and liberty as the primary reasons for doing so.
Gun-banners have a concocted a wildly ridiculous view that people everywhere are at risk of being shot either accidentally, on purpose by some crazed lunatic, or spontaneously at the site of a traffic accident. In the gun-banners' world, the mere presence of a firearm puts everyone at risk and therefore violates our (nonexistent) right to feel safe from firearm danger everywhere.
This is insane, of course. From the birth of this nation to present day, the firearm is the ultimate symbol of freedom AND safety. It is the firearm that enabled us to win independence from the tyrannical King of England. In 1941, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto is quoted as saying, "You cannot invade the mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind each blade of grass." There is no telling how many other tyrants have been deterred by our formidable military and armed populace. Clearly only a madman with a death wish would dare attack the United States.
International politics isn't the only arena in which the firearm preserves liberty, however. Liberty is also found in the right of the people to feel safe in their homes and to defend themselves against domestic predators, gangs, and terrorists. Dr. John Lott estimates that firearms are used 2.4 million times per year in self-defense. That averages to 6,575 self-defense cases per day. Of those, it is estimated that the firearm is merely brandished 80% of the time, causing the perpetrator to flee the scene and resulting in no injuries. As a woman I can assure you, it is the perpetrator that scares me and my .357 that makes me feel safe.
The United States is unique in that we are the only country in the world with a guaranteed right to keep and bear arms. This is the foundation of what America and freedom are all about. Without self-defense, liberty would be impossible to maintain. The two are inseparable.
And yet, like raving lunatics, gun banners insist that the opposite is true. When you consider the countless millions of atrocious murders committed by tyrannical governments against an unarmed populace - throughout history and continuing to this day - one must wonder what the possible justification gun-banners might have for continuing their campaign of fear.
Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote! -- Benjamin Franklin, 1759
http://www.sierratimes.com/03/08/26/libbelles.htm
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878<P>