Right to Bear Arms – Our Last Safe Haven
As the saying goes, “there are two sides to every story”. When it comes to gun control, or excessive legislation pertaining to the sale and use of guns, the debate comes down to two sides: 1) the progressive slant which demands complete government control of firearms and ammunition and, 2) the conservative side which lobbies for the rights of every citizen to carry. For the purpose of this article, gun control shall be construed as the legislative activities related to all aspects of owning a weapon; including magazine restrictions, ammunition restrictions, gun owner databases and mandatory registration and the banning of certain types of weapons.
Each and every time there is a highly-publicized act of violence in which a gun was used (example: Sandy Hook, Gabby Giffords, Trayvon Martin), the left immediately circles their wagons and professes that they have the definitive answer to all of the violence: more gun control. They (the government), and they alone, can prevent any and all gun-related acts, if only you’d let them take over every aspect of gun sales, registration and required testing. After all, they’ve done so well with Amtrak, the Postal Service and the Affordable Care Act. Next, their sycophant media accomplices bombard the airwaves with manufactured statistics that show their side to be right. The story is told that this victim or that victim would still be here today, if only we would pass gun legislation laws that remove these terrible weapons from the hands of citizens.
The problem we face is that if you tell a lie long enough, it eventually becomes a truth. Far too many Americans fall for the guise that if we didn’t have guns in the hands of everyday citizens, we wouldn’t have violent crime. If the only weapons were those in the possession of law enforcement, then life would be simple and safe, and Willy Wonka and the oompa loompas would be our singing neighbors. Try to imagine what life would look like if only agents of the federal government and their local proxies had weapons? Before placing the rose colored glasses on, we should first look at a few facts.
Consider Baltimore. Today, (June 2015) the city of charm looks more like a scene from “The Purge”. If legislation of some sort is required, then the ballot measure they should be considering is changing the name of the city from the city of charm to the city of harm. Even with such strict restrictions on guns (some of the most restrictive policies in the country), Maryland routinely ranks among the most dangerous states in terms of violent crime statistics. One in every 156 citizens is the victim of a violent crime, while one in 11,427 is murdered. Since January of 2015, 116 citizens have been murdered. In May of 2015 alone, 43 people have lost their lives to gun violence. 51 have been shot and killed since the riots at the end of April. Compare this to New York City where 30 people were killed during the same period…keeping in mind that New York has ten times the population that Baltimore does. Do we honestly believe that if guns were completely outlawed, the miscreants who roam the city for the purpose of causing mayhem and harm, would simply turn their guns in, or refuse to use a gun because it was against the law? Certainly they wouldn’t want to break a new gun law, would they? Check the FBI statistics and you’ll find the most murders – per capita – are in those cities with the most stringent gun laws. What about Chicago? Again, a city with some of the most restrictive gun legislation laws on the books, and here the inner city resembles a street in Mogadishu. Since the beginning of the year, there have been 172 homicides and 990 citizens have been shot (one every three hours and thirty nine minutes).
The problem that the left faces is that the facts get in their way. The guns used in these homicides, were probably obtained through illegal means in the first place. Criminals, at least those with a record, can’t get a gun through legal means now. More regulation and restrictions will not stop those bent on breaking the law, from further breaking the law to obtain a gun. But to take guns from the hands of good people, only makes them more vulnerable to attack and violent crime. And to take the guns away is the goal of this administration. Regulations that could not pass through Congress have now been taken up by the office of the Attorney General. This “end run” bypasses the constitutionally mandated requirement for laws to be enacted and voted on by our representatives. The AG is working right now to force changes in gun sales and reporting that take us one step closer to full registration…one step closer to making us all criminals.
The second amendment, the right to bear arms, is one that has been granted by our Constitution. This right was given to us by the founding fathers – not to protect ourselves from outside armies – but rather to protect ourselves, period; including, if necessary, from an oppressive government. In excerpts from an interview with British GQ, published this past week, actor Vince Vaughn put it succinctly: “I support the right for people to have a gun in public – full stop, not just in your home. The Second Amendment is not about duck hunting. We don’t have the right to bear arms because of burglars; We have the right to bear arms to resist the supreme power of a corrupt and abusive government.” Vaughn went further in calling out firearm restrictions, saying that “banning guns is like banning forks in an attempt to stop making people fat.”
If we don’t stand up for the right to bear arms each and every day, then one day this right will be taken from us. As economies continue to worsen…as inner cities become more like third world countries, gun crime will continue to rise. This escalation will only produce more fodder for the left-leaning media and an out-of-control administration to continue to profess that our only savior is government. The lies will continue to be told.
Not long ago, there were safe havens throughout the country. Day by day, legislation by legislation, those safe zones have now become war zones. Gradually change the laws and like the frog in boiling water; we simply don’t feel the heat being turned up. It’s time for us to jump out of the frying pan. It’s getting hot in here.
D L Hammack
