Being here for a little while and reading all the posts on this site I find myself agreeing with some things I am finding, but on gun control I remain firm...
Being here for a little while and reading all the posts on this site I find myself agreeing with some things I am finding, but on gun control I remain firm...
When I was in school there was one topic I studied with great enthusiasm and that was History. I particularly enjoyed American History and Military History. I take exception with any infringement of the constitution, but worse than an overstep is an ignorance. An overstep of boundaries is easy to see but an ignorance regarding meaning and intent leads to a perversion of the concept. Many here will disagree but I will lay out a case that can not be argued. If you come here to sing with the choir stop reading now. If you come here to see other points of view and have yours challenged then please read on.
Since gun control seems to be the flavor of the month let's focus on the second amendment. Many people who argue the second amendment know nothing about it and they try to twist the meaning to suit their personal taste. To begin I would open with some words set fourth by a founding father.
"On every occasion [of Constitutional interpretation] let us carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying [to force] what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, [instead let us] conform to the probable one in which it was passed."
- Thomas Jefferson
The second amendment reads "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"
So we can debate what this means or we can dig a little deeper and as Thomas Jefferson said conform to the probable meaning in which it was passed. So what was the meaning of the 2nd Amendment when it was passed? For this we can study what the framers of the constitution had to say about it. Since posting a book here would be counter productive I will post a few quotes.
"A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government."
- George Washington
"The strongest reason for people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government."
- Thomas Jefferson
"I ask sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people except for a few politicians."
- George Mason (father of the Bill of Rights and The Virginia Declaration of Rights)
"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves."
- William Pitt
"Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are ruined.... The great object is that every man be armed. Everyone who is able might have a gun."
- Patrick Henry
Congress have no power to disarm the militia. Their swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birth-right of an American... [T]he 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.
-Tench Coxe Pennsylvania delegate to the Continental Congress
I will hold here on the quotes. I could go on, but at this point I think I have offered a sample from several different sources. Who is the militia? The whole people except for a few politicians. Some would say that you do not need a 30 round magazine to hunt. As we can read above, the second amendment has nothing to do with hunting. Some would say that our founding fathers could have never anticipated personal weapons of such destructive power. To this I would point out that the constitution is timeless. The idea was that whatever a government had access to, so should it's people to be able to resist should the government become one of tyranny.
The thing about the constitution is it is indeed timeless. It doesn't lay in safeguards for the problems of it's day; rather it lays in safeguards got the problem with human nature. If we look at some of the amendments...
1st - Protects freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of the press as well as the right to assemble.
2nd - Protects an individual's right to bear arms.
3rd - Prohibits the forced quartering of soldiers during peacetime
4th - Prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures
5th - Sets out rules for indictment by grand jury and eminent domain, protects the right to due process, and prohibits self-incrimination and double jeopardy
6th - Protects the right to a fair and speedy public trial by jury, including the rights to be notified of the accusations, to confront the accuser, to obtain witnesses and retain counsel
7th - Provides for the right to trial by jury
8th - Prohibits excessive fines and excessive bail, as well as cruel and unusual punishment.
Again, not going into further detail here, it becomes clear that these rights are what separate us from the rest of the world. The Constitution does not grant us these rights, these rights are given to us by our creator. Rather this document provides us with a shield. It is a line that the government can not cross. As it turns out, many of these lines have been crossed. For example president Bush in his patriot act has given authority to monitor communications which we are supposed to be secure in. A patriot is not Democrat or Republican or Progressive. A patriot is pro American and that means guarding liberty. Liberty is defined by our constitution.
Since the 2nd amendment now becomes clear in its meaning, some will say we should do away with it. First of all, it wont happen, study what is required to change the constitution and you will understand. Secondly, even if you could, you would be destroying part of what insures our nations freedom and greatness. America has suffered hard times, but I can tell you for a fact that the poorest person in America is more wealthy than the middle class in most countries. America has prospered more than any nation in history. Almost every horrible abuse of people comes from the government. Some will say 'it can't happen here'. I would say you are correct, but that is because we have the constitution to shield us and the second amendment to stop it if anyone tries. We have made our compromise on the 2nd amendment. We do not have access to every terrible implement of the soldier.
This brings me to my final point. If people don't back down on gun control there will be a terrible price. 1,500,000 background checks done in November for weapon purchases. For those who do not know how a background check works, each weapon does not need a background check, each buyer does. I purchased two new pistols this week, that's one background check. 1,900,000 in December. That means that in the last two months alone there are 3.5 million new weapons out there at a minimum. AR-15 semi-automatic rifles are on a 15 month back order. 30 round magazines are on a 12 month backorder. Ammunition for these rifles can not be found, I for example have begun crafting my own ammunition so I can go out to the range this spring and enjoy some rifles and BBQ with my friends. The point is this, people are anticipating an assault weapons ban and gun grab. If you knew cars were going to be banned in a month would you drop the money to go out and buy one? The folks grabbing these weapons have NO intention on turning them over. How are you going to disarm millions of people who refuse to turn over the weapons? Simple answer, you will not disarm them. You may start a war, but you will not disarm them. Many people have made public knowledge where they stand if so much as a magazine ban passes. I for one am not interested in a fight, but be warned, there are those that are. Also be warned, that many members of the military and law enforcement community which some hope would do the disarming are going to refuse those orders. Turns out their parents and siblings are some of the folks who refuse to turn over the weapons and they aren't very willing to shoot or detain them. This is not a threat, these are not my words, but also be aware that many of these people have vowed not to go after those collecting their weapons, but to go after those who pushed to start the fight. One statement I have come across warns that if their families are harmed they are coming after the families of those who started the fight. This type of fight is a lose / lose. It will crush our economy and put everyone in danger. The patriots are prepared to lose their property, loved ones, and even their lives for what they believe in. Anyone who would push for a gun grab or any type of ban, I ask are you prepared to give up the same. If a fight breaks out it wont happen in a land far far away, it will be raging down your streets. Again, I must emphasize, this is not a threat of any kind, this is simply what the response will be. I remind you, 3.5 million weapons were not purchased by people these last two months just so they could turn them in. There are many out there honing their skills and stock piling ammunition. No law abiding patriot would ever fire the first shot. No law abiding patriot will abide a law that desecrates their liberties either. We must find a way to deal with the criminal element with weapons and only the criminal element without dragging law abiding constitutional patriots into it.
I implore everyone who reads this to back off the idea of weapon bans, constitutional infringement, and any more gun control. I do not want to ever see a fight between Americans, but I can assure you, that is what will be on our doorstep if we can't find a better way.
I pray that we can all stand down on the topic of gun control at this time. We have a country with so many other problems. Some of the solutions to these other problems I actually agree with members of this site on. I hope I was able to express another side of the debate here. I encourage people who doubt what I say to look into http://iiipercent.blogspot.com/ This is the site for the Three Percenters. Also look into the oath keepers. I truly hope that we can all learn to respect and accept each other as law abiding American citizens despite our different views. As I said, there are so many other huge problems that we could work together on rather than dividing on every little thing. I no doubt will receive some blow back from this diary and I am sure there will be jaunting and poking and maybe even some laughing. I would normally say 'remember that when all hell breaks loose and you realize I was right'. Frankly I wont say it here because I am terrified of being correct on this one. Please, everyone, cool off and take a step back to look at things with a level head. Promote peace in what you say, you never know who you are inspiring. Respect the right for others to have different views and recognize that their views are as valid to them as yours are to you. There are no monsters on either side of a debate regardless of what propaganda ones political party spouts. There are only people, most of which follow the law and have families and jobs and people who love them.
God bless, and everyone have a happy and safe new year
- A Patriot