The Second Amendment - Keep It Alive

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.

The Second Amendment to the constitution may be the most hated among some in the country. While freedom of religion, speech, assembly and the press are taken up by everyone, many in this country have little interest to invoke their second amendment rights. As the country continues to become more polarized and urbanized the 2nd amendment may someday fall victim to its own bizarre language and changing times. That day will be a tragic one for freedom and the American way of life.

When some read those words, it brings up antiquated images of pioneers pressed into service to fight some red-coats. Some people mistakenly think this is the only application of the right to bear arms (speaking of confused, google "revolution" and look at the images it pulls up). The 2nd amendment still applies today just as well as it always has. It perpetuates a culture of independence (not from the British, I'm talking REAL independence) and personal responsibility, allows people to defend themselves and their possessions, and is still a deterrent from tyranny.

The United States is, and always will be, a little different than other western nations. Our country had to be explored, conquered, and subdued by our culture and beliefs, and it never would have happened without firearms. Today, almost every inherent good our country has stems from our pioneer spirit. We value responsibility, hard work, and independence more than our European counterparts, and while our culture has some sins in the past, we should all be fighting to preserve our unique position in world history.

The far left tends stereotype gun-owners as irresponsible fools who enjoy killing things way too much, but I disagree. The values firearms teaches young people can not be contested. While many children are learning the value of life from killing sprees on Grand Theft Auto IV, others learn a much more realistic lesson about how fragile life is while hunting. It teaches a lesson that once life is taken, it never comes back in the real world. While teenagers in France are not seen as responsible enough to drive anything more than a scooter, it is not uncommon for a 10 year old in the United States to be trusted with a deadly weapon to go skeet or target shooting for fun.

Independence was not a privilege in our country's pioneer days, it was simply a fact of life. If you were attacked by bandits, Indians, or anything else on the planes of Kansas in the 1850's, the only police officers that are going to have anything to do with you are the ones that may read about your corpse or lost possessions in a news paper. While the urban populous of today may pride themselves on the fact a "peace" officer is only a phone call and a 40 minute wait away. However, 40 minutes or 5 minutes is often too long for victims to wait for help.Possession of a gun of course does not mean you're never going to be on the losing end of a confrontation, but there is a reason why concealed carry laws are sweeping the country. Concerns that every fist fight will morph into a fist fight have found to be baseless, considering only 10% of firearms used in crimes are legally owned by the criminal.

Finally, the main reason for keeping the 2nd amendment is to deter tyranny, not necessarily from the US government, but from any invading military as well. By allowing the people to own firearms we can pretty much rest easy that no foreign army could occupy the United States. The Constitution was written in the wake of the revolution, and the founding fathers had no idea when that revolutionary spirit would need to be called upon again.

Although we do live in an extremely stable political environment, we can not guarantee what happens in the future. It is not too far fetched to imagine a future where war or an economic crisis prompts the federal government to take too much power. If we hang on to the 2nd amendment, we will always know any steps the federal government takes in that direction will be taken cautiously.