dredwinggirl13
Member
Revised edition 
Once again, thanks for everyone's input!
Picture this: It’s 1776, and you and your fellow countrymen have had it up to your foreheads with the way your country is being governed. Your tyrannical king has imposed unfair taxes on you without representation in the government, forced you to house troops that are working against you, and has made it illegal to do anything about the situation. The previous year on April 19, 1775, the English marched on Lexington and Concord with the express purpose of disarming the colonials there. Shots were fired as they did in fact take powder and arms from storage warehouses. Later that year, they refused to let colonial citizens leave Boston, which lay in siege, without first turning over their weaponry and then refused to allow the now disarmed citizens’ egress. These are but a few grievances of the American colonists. So, what do you do? You declare independence from the king, because when government is ruling without the consent of its people, those people should have every right, even an obligation, to rebel, according to John Locke, an English philosopher whose ideas heavily influenced our Founding Fathers to create our unique system of government. Fast-forward to 1788, when the Constitution was ratified by all states, giving a basis for the structure of our government, and laying the groundwork for the Bill of Rights, including the Second Amendment; the right to bear arms. Since that time, there have been many laws passed that seem to infringe that right, such as the National Firearms Act of 1934, the Gun Control Act of 1968, and the Assault Weapons Ban passed in 1994. Our Second Amendment has many purposes, making it incredibly important to our nation, and it is not to be tampered with.
When our Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution and Bill of Rights, they had a particular purpose for the Second Amendment. The reason for their rebellion was unfair treatment by the government forced upon them. King George III made it illegal for anyone to bear arms against Parliament, or oppose the government in any fashion. Our Founding Fathers were not about to let our developing country become like the one they so desperately struggled against, an endeavor which was nearly unsuccessful. The Second Amendment allows the people to rise up against the government in times of tyranny, and ensures the government serves at the will of the people, not vice versa. Thomas Jefferson wrote “It is [the peoples’] right and duty to be at all times armed.” Also, former Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story, appointed by President James Madison, said “The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered as the palladium of the liberties of a republic; since it offers a strong moral check against the usurpation and arbitrary power of rulers; and will generally, even if these are successful in the first instance, enable the people to resist and triumph over them.” The Second Amendment is crucial to our nation if we expect the freedom to exercise our other inalienable rights.
Many people think that a break-in, robbery, or other violent crime will never happen to them. But what if it did? How could you defend yourself against a criminal, most likely armed, especially if you are of a smaller build, woman, or an elderly/disabled citizen? By exercising your Second Amendment right, you instantly level the playing field that would otherwise be unfair based on force and strength. Criminals prey on the weak. They would rarely try to commit a crime against a person who they knew owned and carried a firearm. Statistics offer proof to this argument. According to “Morgan Quitno Press: State and City Ranking Publications,” Vermont has been ranked within the top five from 1994 to 2003 for the state with the lowest crime rate. Maine also falls within this category. Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming are also in the top ten. These states are all “open carry” states, as shown by www.opencarry.org, meaning that residents may open carry with or without a license, depending on state jurisdiction. Washington DC, where guns are more or less banned altogether, has an overall crime rate of 1,371.2 per 100,000 inhabitants, while Vermont has an overall rate of 112 per 100,000 inhabitants, as stated on www.infoplease.com. Arguably, guns help bring down crime rates. They are major deterrents for criminals and attacks on innocent citizens. These are just some of the many statistics that help prove another reason why our Second Amendment is so important to the people in our nation.
I can tell you first-hand that shooting firearms is a fun and enjoyable experience. I know several people who make firearm sports a major event in their family. It is a sport that many people engage in, and there’s a plethora of activities that people use firearms for, including hunting, target shooting, and skeet shooting. One fire-arm related site, www.amfire.com, updated in
2007, shows that 30-35 million Americans own firearms, and there are 15,343,300 paid hunting license holders, bringing in a total revenue of $525,753,481 for conservation. According to www.nra.org, there are millions of paid members, covering a diverse range of people of all ages, sexes, races, and religions. Through the National Rifle Association, those same millions of people participate in a variety of shooting activities. Millions of people use firearms for recreation as well as serious competition. In America, the Second Amendment protects a way of life for many citizens.
Our Founding Fathers knew what they were doing when they created the Bill of Rights to our Constitution. Whether or not they knew the ancillary effects that would come along with the Second Amendment other than originally intended doesn’t matter. What does matter is that we have the ability to exercise our rights, and it allows Americans to feel safe, not only from criminals, but from our own government, and gives many of us a hobby, or even a career. The Second Amendment is necessary for the survival of our Nation as a democratic republic, her people, and certain ways of life, and must not be infringed.
Once again, thanks for everyone's input!Picture this: It’s 1776, and you and your fellow countrymen have had it up to your foreheads with the way your country is being governed. Your tyrannical king has imposed unfair taxes on you without representation in the government, forced you to house troops that are working against you, and has made it illegal to do anything about the situation. The previous year on April 19, 1775, the English marched on Lexington and Concord with the express purpose of disarming the colonials there. Shots were fired as they did in fact take powder and arms from storage warehouses. Later that year, they refused to let colonial citizens leave Boston, which lay in siege, without first turning over their weaponry and then refused to allow the now disarmed citizens’ egress. These are but a few grievances of the American colonists. So, what do you do? You declare independence from the king, because when government is ruling without the consent of its people, those people should have every right, even an obligation, to rebel, according to John Locke, an English philosopher whose ideas heavily influenced our Founding Fathers to create our unique system of government. Fast-forward to 1788, when the Constitution was ratified by all states, giving a basis for the structure of our government, and laying the groundwork for the Bill of Rights, including the Second Amendment; the right to bear arms. Since that time, there have been many laws passed that seem to infringe that right, such as the National Firearms Act of 1934, the Gun Control Act of 1968, and the Assault Weapons Ban passed in 1994. Our Second Amendment has many purposes, making it incredibly important to our nation, and it is not to be tampered with.
When our Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution and Bill of Rights, they had a particular purpose for the Second Amendment. The reason for their rebellion was unfair treatment by the government forced upon them. King George III made it illegal for anyone to bear arms against Parliament, or oppose the government in any fashion. Our Founding Fathers were not about to let our developing country become like the one they so desperately struggled against, an endeavor which was nearly unsuccessful. The Second Amendment allows the people to rise up against the government in times of tyranny, and ensures the government serves at the will of the people, not vice versa. Thomas Jefferson wrote “It is [the peoples’] right and duty to be at all times armed.” Also, former Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story, appointed by President James Madison, said “The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered as the palladium of the liberties of a republic; since it offers a strong moral check against the usurpation and arbitrary power of rulers; and will generally, even if these are successful in the first instance, enable the people to resist and triumph over them.” The Second Amendment is crucial to our nation if we expect the freedom to exercise our other inalienable rights.
Many people think that a break-in, robbery, or other violent crime will never happen to them. But what if it did? How could you defend yourself against a criminal, most likely armed, especially if you are of a smaller build, woman, or an elderly/disabled citizen? By exercising your Second Amendment right, you instantly level the playing field that would otherwise be unfair based on force and strength. Criminals prey on the weak. They would rarely try to commit a crime against a person who they knew owned and carried a firearm. Statistics offer proof to this argument. According to “Morgan Quitno Press: State and City Ranking Publications,” Vermont has been ranked within the top five from 1994 to 2003 for the state with the lowest crime rate. Maine also falls within this category. Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming are also in the top ten. These states are all “open carry” states, as shown by www.opencarry.org, meaning that residents may open carry with or without a license, depending on state jurisdiction. Washington DC, where guns are more or less banned altogether, has an overall crime rate of 1,371.2 per 100,000 inhabitants, while Vermont has an overall rate of 112 per 100,000 inhabitants, as stated on www.infoplease.com. Arguably, guns help bring down crime rates. They are major deterrents for criminals and attacks on innocent citizens. These are just some of the many statistics that help prove another reason why our Second Amendment is so important to the people in our nation.
I can tell you first-hand that shooting firearms is a fun and enjoyable experience. I know several people who make firearm sports a major event in their family. It is a sport that many people engage in, and there’s a plethora of activities that people use firearms for, including hunting, target shooting, and skeet shooting. One fire-arm related site, www.amfire.com, updated in
2007, shows that 30-35 million Americans own firearms, and there are 15,343,300 paid hunting license holders, bringing in a total revenue of $525,753,481 for conservation. According to www.nra.org, there are millions of paid members, covering a diverse range of people of all ages, sexes, races, and religions. Through the National Rifle Association, those same millions of people participate in a variety of shooting activities. Millions of people use firearms for recreation as well as serious competition. In America, the Second Amendment protects a way of life for many citizens.
Our Founding Fathers knew what they were doing when they created the Bill of Rights to our Constitution. Whether or not they knew the ancillary effects that would come along with the Second Amendment other than originally intended doesn’t matter. What does matter is that we have the ability to exercise our rights, and it allows Americans to feel safe, not only from criminals, but from our own government, and gives many of us a hobby, or even a career. The Second Amendment is necessary for the survival of our Nation as a democratic republic, her people, and certain ways of life, and must not be infringed.
