Opinion by Martin
Throughout the years before the birth of the United States, royal families and their minions have attempted to strip the citizens of kingdoms and nation-states of the weapons that could be used against them and for the most part, they have succeeded. We could wander through history and pinpoint numerous situations where the monarchy or government was overthrown by force of arms, but that would also be offset by the times where an armed citizenry had assisted the government in the defense of their country.
In Europe, the ruler, whether an actual royal family or someone who took over the power of government, would provide protection for the subjects who tended the fields and, when required, formed the bulwark of the military forces facing incursions by others whether a military organization intent on taking over and expanding a neighboring kingdom, or a band of outlaws robbing travelers. At any rate, except when needed for defense, most heavy weapons were kept locked up in the castle or at the location that served as the central government for that particular area. The majority of the population, mainly farmers and tradesmen, had light armament at home – swords, spears, and bows that could be used for self defense or hunting when allowed.
With the invention of the gun, a man on foot with minimal training could defeat an armored knight who had years of practice and thus a new threat to the status quo developed. Immediately the “powers that be” decided that this was a threat that had to be stopped before it got out of hand and so began to think of ways to convince the citizenry that guns were dangerous to the individual. It worked in most of Europe with peasants only allowed light weapons for hunting. Then came the United States.
As Europeans populated the Western Hemisphere, they found that they needed weapons for self defense as well as hunting. As the years went by, the colonies created militias to provide a first line of defense against the natives, outlaws and the French (or British, depending on which side you were on). But as the colonies expanded and began to move towards Independence, the needs for weapons were discussed, the Right to Own and Keep Arms became codified in the Constitution of the new Nation, much to the disgust of people who felt that the government would provide the defense of the citizens.
Today, there are groups who believe that the Constitution is a document that can be changed at the whim of a politician or judge with a “God-complex” who feels that since taking office he/she is no longer bound by the desires of the people who put him there, whether elected or appointed. Throughout the history of the United States, there have been groups that wished to overturn the Second Amendment of the Constitution and disarm the citizens. Onto the scene have come the “Brady Bunch”, Mayor Bloomberg of New York, and the media, as well as others who have no desire to let the facts of gun ownership get into the way of their agenda which is to disarm the citizens and only allow the government and criminals to possess weapons. Again, you can look at Europe and other countries that have national gun control, the rate of crime rises exponentially with the imposition of laws against gun ownership.
A gun is a tool! It is no different than a knife, baseball bat, hammer or chain saw. When a gun is sitting on a shelf, loaded or not, there is no chance that it will decide on its own to leave the shelf and kill or maim someone. There has to be a person who intends to use a gun to commit a crime to walk to the shelf, pick up the gun and shoot someone else. The same goes for the knife, baseball bat, hammer or chain saw. If someone wishes to kill or maim someone else, there will be a weapon available even if it is the criminal’s own feet or fists.
I have been a member of the National Rifle Association since 1955 and absolutely support the Second Amendment to the Constitution which allows the citizenry to keep and bear arms. The only restriction on the Right should be criminal conviction in which a weapon of some type was used. There are background checks required for those purchasing from licensed dealers but, as a citizen, I should be able to purchase and give a weapon to a friend or loved one as a gift.
I believe that it is very disingenuous for the Bloomberg organization – Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG) to feed European newspapers their misleading “facts” and “figures” to create gun-free and criminal-rich environments in the United States. As long as the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights stand, American citizens will be Free Men and not subject to the whims of an out of control bureaucracy masquerading as a government.
