Gun Control
In 1789, James Madison wrote, “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.
That sentence later came to be known the Second Amendment of the Bill of Rights. The Second Amendment guarantees a citizen’s right to keep and bear arms for personal defense. Now, there are candidates in the 2008 presidential election supporting a national law against carrying concealed weapons and even limiting gun sales. The NRA states, “Our founders risked their lives to create a free nation, and they guaranteed freedom as the birthright of American citizens through the Bill of Rights.” There are candidates, such as Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, who are willing to compromise that freedom unless we stand to protect it (www.cnn.com).
The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence says the Second Amendment right to own guns is a myth, that it is nothing more than misinterpretation. Why, then, did James Madison write that Americans had "the advantage of being armed," that was lacking in other nations? Patrick Henry also proclaimed the "great object is that every man be armed…Everyone who is able may have a gun” (www.nraila.org).
There are claims that banning only certain firearms and limiting gun sales does not constitute as an infringement of our Second Amendment rights. George Mason stated at the Virginia's constitutional convention in 1788: "[W]hen the resolution of enslaving America was formed in Great Britain, the British Parliament was advised by an artful man…to disarm the people; that it was the best and most effectual way to enslave them; but that they should not do it openly, but weaken them, and let them sink gradually."
We have to protect our personal rights. We could be jeopardizing our freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of press. What if the government tries to “infringe” upon the First Amendment?
Lana Ward
