"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
This country was founded on the principles of peace and liberty, but to achieve peace and protect liberty you must keep an eye on government’s role in your life. There is a reason the first two amendments of the Bill of Rights are:
I. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
II. A well regulated Militia, being necessary to thesecurity of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shallnot be infringed.
The first two amendments are set in place to protect the citizens from a government that oversteps its boundaries. If the citizen/Militia begins to have their rights infringed upon or taken away,the citizen/Militia has an obligation to country and fellow citizen to protest their rights and if need be, defend their liberties and forcefully take back their freedoms. The first amendment protects any citizen that wishes to protest against the government and the second amendment allows that citizen to use force if the government responds with force or a removal of more rights or freedoms.
The topic of “Gun Control” has recently appeared in the MSM’s (Mainstream Media’s) everyday vocabulary again due to the recent horrific shooting in Newtown, CT where 20 little angels were sent to Heaven along with 7 adult victims. This is a tragedy and will forever be engraved in everyone’s minds alongside; 9/11, Columbine and the Challenger disaster. Charlton Heston said it best when he said “"There's no such thing as a good gun. There's no such thing as a bad gun. A gun in the hands of a bad man is a very dangerous thing. A gun in the hands of a good person is no danger to anyone except the bad guys”. Fighting for the removal of guns will not prevent horrific events like the Newtown shooting… it will only make it easier for them to happen. Connecticut has some of the strictest gun laws in the country but this tragedy still occurred. Gun bans do not protect the citizens, they only make them more vulnerable.
How vulnerable you ask??? Here are some interesting statistics:
- States which passed concealed carry laws reduced their rate of murder by 8.5%, rape by 5%, aggravated assault by 7% and robbery by 3%
- Washington, D.C. has, perhaps, the most restrictive gun control laws in the country, and yet it is frequently the Murder Capital of the nation. In the 25 years following the DC gun ban, its murder rate INCREASED 51 percent, even while the national rate DECREASED 36 percent
- In the fifteen years following the passage of Florida's concealed carry law in 1987, over 800,000 permits to carry firearms were issued to people in the state.(32) FBI reports show that the homicide rate in Florida, which in 1987 was much higher than the national average, fell 52% during that 15-year period—thus putting the Florida rate below the national average
- As many as 200,000 women use a gun every year to defend themselves against sexual abuse
- 3/5 of felons polled agreed that "a criminal is not going to mess around with a victim he knows is armed with a gun
- 74% of felons polled agreed that "one reason burglars avoid houses when people are at home is that they fear being shot during the crime
- 57% of felons polled agreed that "criminals are more worried about meeting an armed victim than they are about running into the police
I can spout off stats all day long and some may never even do their own research but the fact remains, guns save more good people from bad people than they do kill good people by bad people. Guns are our last line of defense from the demons walking the streets like Adam Lanza (Shooter in Newtown, CT). Just think about how many of those Angels could have been saved if a teacher or administrator had a gun on their person. The bravery of Dawn Hochsprung, Principal at Sandy Hook Elementary, showed when rushing Adam Lanza was amazing. She was the first to lose her life that day at the school and she showed courage till the end, but what would have happened if she had a handgun on her person at the time of the shooting? What if instead of trying to rush Adam Lanza and disarm him she could have pulled out her handgun and shot him dead before he had the opportunity to extinguish the beautiful lives of those 20 children? Gun Control advocates would argue that he had body armor on and it could have made no difference, she may have missed and still would have been killed. What I would argue back would be, She would have had more of fighting chance than to try to disarm the shooter with her hands with no weapon.
The recent events at Sandy Hook Elementary have caused liberal lawmakers to start another anti-gun frenzy. Congresswoman Dianne Feinstein of California has proposed a bill that will essentially ban 120 different types of guns (including rifles and handguns with fixed magazines that carry more than 10 rounds). She also wants to ban "Assault Rifles" but will not clearly define what she believes "Assault Rifles" are in her proposed bill. Can we really be that stupid to allow a bill to pass that is essentially a blank check to be filled out at a later date once the bill is passed? Well, they did pass Obama-Care without reading it (According to Pelosi we would have to pass it to find out what was in it).
We must stand up to our elected officials that want to take away our rights: right to protect self, family and neighbor from anyone who would abuse them and demand they leave our rights alone.
Don't Tread on Me!
- Andrew Ford
Sweet Dreams,
Knightmare
