My Right to Bear Arms…
Audemus jura nostra defendere
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This is going to sound like I am ranting and that is probably very true. I feel I needed a place to vent my frustration about one of the candidates for president in this election. I will not mention his name but I feel when I start you will know exactly who I am speaking about.
When people decided they would rebel against England and create a new nation, the reasons were stated clearly in the Declaration of Independence. Let me take an excerpt from that declaration:
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“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. —That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government…”
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Now, with that being said, I will now mention the Second Amendment to the Constitution. It exact words are:
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“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.”
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Now, many people will argue that this amendment only applies to times of possible war in the U.S., but this is not true. It is stated, but it is not exclusively aimed at only that aspect of our lives. It also says, “…the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” This came about from past experiences with government. Look at the excerpt from the Declaration of Independence near the top of the page. The writers believed it was their duty to overthrow any power or government that infringed upon the unalienable rights given to people by their Creator. This amendment was written into the Constitution to help the people keep their safety from not only foreign enemies, but also domestic ones. This includes the govenment. When the govenment starts trying to regulate my RIGHT to own and use firearms, it is infringing upon something that, by law, is given to me. This presidential candidate cannot take away my RIGHT to own or carry firearms so why is he even trying? If you do not want a gun, DON’T GET ONE. Do not, however, try and limit my RIGHT to protect myself from foreign or domestic enemies. I enjoy hunting and other recreational activities with firearms, but in the time when it becomes necessary for me to protect myself, I will do it and I will have the means to do it. Owning a firearm gives me the ability to protect myself from someone who wants to take away my RIGHTS to “LIFE, LIBERTY, and the PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS…” If owning a firearm keeps me alive, protects my freedom to act or believe without being stopped by unnecessary force, or allows me to pursue that which I enjoy (i.e. hunting, recreational target practice….), then it is MY RIGHT to have them and I ALWAYS WILL! Thank God for the Second Amendment!
