All the talks of gun control and the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution have inspired this post. In the wake of tragedies our President has tried to introduce some sweeping policies to "help" curb gun violence. In reality, his proposed policies would only serve to infringe upon several basic rights that our forefathers so carefully fought to establish and preserve. Is it really too much to ask to get to the root of the real issues that spawn such tragedies.
So...with all of the gun control talk going on in the media and everywhere, I became inspired to read our Constitution. And then I read it again. And again. I even went and purchased a written copy from the local bookstore. And read it many times again.
The 2nd Amendment gives us (that would be WE, THE PEOPLE, by the way) the right to keep and bear arms. More specifically, it says this:
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.
It does not specify which kinds of arms are allowed and which are not. It does not specify that only a certain capacity of rounds be allowed. It does not specify that these arms should only be used for hunting or for certain types of sport.
What the 2nd Amendment does say is that WE, THE PEOPLE, shall always have the right to keep and bear arms. This amendment was put into our Constitution for our own protection. Not from each other; not from large animals in the woods; but, rather from the government itself.
Our forefathers had enough sense to realize that things could go horribly awry one day. They had enough sense to see into the future and predict that one day, a person or a group of people could become so engrossed with the pursuit of power, and the pursuit of that power could damage or completely do away with what was so valiantly and courageously fought for back in the 1770's. Our founding fathers had enough sense and sensibility to see the potential for everything going to shit; the potential for the entire country going straight to hell in a hand-basket...and they also had enough sense and sensibility to give WE, THE PEOPLE, a way out.
The 2nd Amendment is the safety net provided to us all, should it become necessary to defend, fight for, and die for our freedoms again. Not just from outside threats to our freedoms...remember, our forefathers fought for their freedom from the tyrannical and corrupt government they were being ruled by at the time.
This right to bear arms does allow for us to protect ourselves. However, it is not just from the small few of WE, THE PEOPLE (the ones that engage in criminal activities) that the 2nd Amendment protects us. The 2nd Amendment also, and in my opinion, most specifically grants us the right to protect our rights and freedoms should our government become overly corrupt and tyrannical and seek to permanently take those freedoms away from us.
