Gun Owners - A Warning (admonition) for You!

[Hokkmike]

The right to bear arms is, like it or not, transient and we must work to protect and keep it. Those of you who believe that somehow it is "god given" to all men had better not sit at ease and assume that no matter what you are going hold on to yours as if some kind of unwritten guarantee applies.

When push comes to shove, and god forbid, the 2nd Amendment is ever compromised, the "cold dead hands" promise will NOT apply. Most gun owners will acquiesce and give up their weapons. A few will protest and be dragged out - their firearms removed by force, and a tiny few - will fight it out, and lose.

Lose any air of confidence that this false notion of an unalienable right status might give you. We should all be a little nervous, and therefore vigilant, about protecting our rights as gun owners. I am asking this of all of you for our common interest.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

+1

And I would add that while many like to consider the 2nd Amendment only via a literal interpretation (which I agree should be how it is interpreted), the fact remains that it has not held up in SCOTUS in such a manner. The right to keep and bear arms is infringed regardless of how you feel the amendment should be interpreted.

 

[Im283]

RKBA does not come from the constitution or Bill of Rights. I may be wrong,
but from what I have read the BoR was to insure that pre-existing rights, such as the RKBA, were not infringed on by the gov't. The BoR is not an end all to our rights, just the rights the framers chose to enumerate to guarentee that the Gov't would not mess with.

Even if the man does pass laws to stop gun ownership it will never take away our rights to have them. Now does that mean they won't come for them? Well no, just that they will be wrong in their actions.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

RKBA specifically comes from the Bill of Rights in relation to the United States of America. Since the Constitution and Amendments outlines some specific rights and since the Constitution and Amendments can be amended and interpreted, you most certainly can lose your rights. You don't have a right to something that is not allowed or to something disallowed by law.

Rights only exist within the confines of law and vary by country. You don't have the same rights Canada as you do in the USA and vice versa.

 

[ronwill]

You can believe the Constitution will protect your RKBA right to the point guns become illegal. The only thing protecting these rights are the people who stay on top of laws being introduced and let their reps know they won't get elected again if they support gun control. Don't think it can happen, England once had the RKBA and look what occured there. It CAN happen here if we become lax.

 

[Im283]

Rights only exist within the confines of law and vary by country. You don't have the same rights Canada as you do in the USA and vice versa.

I get what you are saying but the framers believed that every person no matter where or who they were had these rights, putting it on paper only insures that they are not misinterpreted or removed.

 

[no_problem]

You can believe the Constitution will protect your RKBA right to the point guns become illegal.

The constitution is the supreme law of the land. And the 2nd amendment protects the gun owning rights of Americans.

 

[cypher1024]

Look at what happened to us Australians. As a knee-jerk reaction to a massacre (35 dead, 37 injured), the anti-gun lobby rushed tough new gun laws through parliament.

Now it can take up to 9 months to get a pistol licence and pistol. You have to have a 'legitimate reason' for owning a gun and personal protection isn't recognised as one, (this goes for longarms as well). If your reason is target shooting, you are only permitted to transport your gun from your house to the range and back *WITHOUT STOPPING*. You can lose your licence for stopping to fill up the car on your way home.

And you can forget about getting a carry permit - that's pretty much impossible unless you're a police officer or working for a security firm.

The ironic thing is, ONE reasonably trained person with a pistol and a concealed carry permit could have prevented the massacre that these laws are based on.

 

[ronwill]

You can believe the Constitution will protect your RKBA right to the point guns become illegal.

The constitution is the supreme law of the land. And the 2nd amendment protects the gun owning rights of Americans.

No Problem, I agree that the Constitution is the supreme law, however, look at states like California (especially San Francisco) where this right is removed. Anyone who seriously believes that "it can't happen here" needs to look at countries like England, Canada, etc. to see the possibility exists. It is our responsibility to protect our rights and not depend on lawmakers who depend on the silent majority to pass more restrictive laws.

 

[ilbob]

You can believe the Constitution will protect your RKBA right to the point guns become illegal.

The constitution is the supreme law of the land. And the 2nd amendment protects the gun owning rights of Americans.

Tell that to those of us who live in NYC, Illinois, or DC.

The constitution only protects you if judges are willing to make rulings that abide by it, and many just refuse to do so.

You have to actively protect and use your rights or they will disappear.

Never forget - government is the biggest enemy of liberty. Keeping it under control is the best way to protect your liberties.

 

[Mannix]

Rights only exist within the confines of law and vary by country. You don't have the same rights Canada as you do in the USA and vice versa.

This is not how I and many others view it. I have rights, like the right to free speech, religious freedom, and the right to keep and bear arms, among many others, not because I happen to be in the US, but because they are rights everybody possesses simply by being. Government cannot "grant" rights, they can only recognize or suppress them by persecuting those who exercise their god given(or however you wish to phrase it) rights.

 

[I LIKE IT!]

You HAVE what you fight for, what you believe in.

It's not about guns so much as it is about FREEDOM, and
it MUST be protected by good men willing to bleed for there
FREEDOM.

These colors don't run!

SEMPER FI

 

[finnerandr]

"The beauty of the Second Amendment is that it will not be needed until they try to take it."-Thomas Jefferson

 

[RevolvingCylinder]

Actually, those that wrote the Bill of Rights said that those rights already existed and were given by God. The Bill of Rights just recognizes that fact.

 

[ronwill]

Actually, those that wrote the Bill of Rights said that those rights already existed and were given by God. The Bill of Rights just recognizes that fact.

RevolvingCylinder, while I agree that certain rights are God given, they can be taken away should we not remain vigilant. Cases in point, slaves during our early history (after the Constitution was written), Native Americans during our expansion, Jews during WWII. More recently are cases of cities, and some states, removing the RKBA. Simply believing rights are God given is not enough. We must stay on top of proposed legislature and let our reps know they will not be re-elected should they support laws we don't agree with.

 

[amper]

This is not how I and many others view it. I have rights, like the right to free speech, religious freedom, and the right to keep and bear arms, among many others, not because I happen to be in the US, but because they are rights everybody possesses simply by being. Government cannot "grant" rights, they can only recognize or suppress them by persecuting those who exercise their god given(or however you wish to phrase it) rights.

I concur. It should be noted, however, that the philosophy of natural rights is a complex subject that requires a fair amount of study to fully grasp, so unfortunately there are quite a lot of people who misunderstand the conception of unalienable, pre-existing rights in the state of nature.

BTW, great Ghandi quote. That's one of the best I've ever seen. Ghandi should be studied by more people, especially those who think of him as an exclusive proponent of non-violent civil disobedience.

 

[Justin]

Blathering on the interboob =/= activism.

Sheesh.