The Second Amendment

The Second Amendment

By Leon Howard

“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.”

Probably the most maligned of our God-given rights is the Second Amendment; politicians since 1939 have used the maligning of this right for their own political gain and it hasn’t diminished the hue and cry for more gun control when every “law” passed has made no difference in gun crimes.

Probably to understand the 2^nd Amendment, we should look at what the framers of the U.S. Constitution had in mind when they adopted this contract; a contract between the government and the governed. This was the first time in world history that the People created their own government and built in restrictions to protect the natural rights given by God! These were not rights “granted” by a benevolent government or ruler; these were the rights that are natural, born to all moral People.

The Constitution, adopted in 1787, was the Contract that limited the role of government but, even at it’s adoption, many of our founders worried that our natural rights could be abrogated and demanded a Bill of Rights. James Madison argued against it, saying he was afraid by enumerating our rights, many natural rights could be missed. Where the framers wanted the governments duties limited or enumerated, they felt the People’s rights were boundless.

James Madison wrote the Bill of Rights, 12 were approved by the Congress but only 10 were ratified by the states in 1789. James Madison wanted to be certain our rights couldn’t be limited and that is why the 9^th and 10^th Amendments were written as they were.

But why did they feel we, the People, needed the 2^nd Amendment? Our founders were brilliant men and women, living during “the Age of Enlightenment” and were students of history; they had 3000 years of history to study governments and human nature. They referred to our nation as “the Great Experiment” – Democracy? No, they, to a man, feared and despised democracy; it has never succeeded in the history of man! The Great Experiment was man governing man! A Republic with democratic representation!

We are the first nation created on freedom of religion; our founders were primarily Christians but there were also Jews and maybe even a couple of Deists and felt strongly that a man or woman’s religious persuasion was private and no business of the government. I think Patrick Henry stated it best: “It cannot be emphasized too clearly and too often that this nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religion, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason, peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here.”

Our founders also feared a large standing army. Washington’s “Army” was made up of primarily farmers, hunters, and shop keepers, with a few volunteers from  Europe who fought beside us for Liberty and self-determination! Many of the founders feared that even though the federal government’s contract limited it, it would be like governments in the past and try to subjugate the People and, therefore, the People should have the means to bring the government back under control. Thomas Jefferson stated it this way: “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”

George Washington said: “Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the Peoples' liberty's teeth.”

Samuel Adams, called the “Father of the Revolution” was very clear: “The Constitution shall never be construed... to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms.”

George Washington also said: “The very atmosphere of firearms anywhere and everywhere restrains evil interference - they deserve a place of honor with all that's good.”

James Madison voiced his opinion: “A well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained in arms, is the best most natural defense of a free country.”

At another time James Madison put it this way: “Americans have the right and advantage of being armed - unlike the citizens of other countries whose governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.”

“Who are the militia? Are they not ourselves? It is feared, then, that we shall turn our arms each man against his own bosom. Congress have no power to disarm the militia. Their swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birthright of an American...[T]he unlimited power of the sword is not in the hands of either the federal or state governments, but, where I trust in God it will ever remain, in the hands of the people. …A Pennsylvanian, The Pennsylvania Gazette, February 20, 1788

This last quote of Madison’s has been shown to be true innumerable times in history and even today! Oppression follows disarmament of the People in every nation it has taken place! Russia: 1919; Germany: 1939; China: 1949; Cuba: 1959.

As apparent as this trend is, we see nation’s disarming the People trying to prevent crime! Let us look at the gun control laws of the United States to gauge their effectiveness or lack thereof:

·      1939 Gun Control Act – This law expanded the power of the Bureau of Alcohol and Tobacco to now control the ownership of automatic weapons (machine guns). This was in response to the Thompson Sub-Machine Gun; the “Tommy gun” was a favorite of the crime families and the Chicago Mob.

·      1964 Gun Control Act – This law further expanded the power of what is known as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and created a paperwork trail for gun retailers to stop known felons from acquiring firearms. This was in response to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963.

·      1993 “Assault Weapons Ban” – This law outlawed semi-automatic firearms with a certain cosmetic appearance and firearms magazines with cartridge capacities greater than 10.  This was in response to drive-by shootings and robberies in the metropolitan areas of many states.

What effect have these laws had on crime?

·      1939 Gun Control Act – Still enforced. An interesting statistic from the BATF: A federally licensed Machine Gun has never been used in the commission of a crime! But machine gun crimes have not abated; the drug dealers use smuggled machine guns in commission of their “business”.

·      1964 Gun Control Act – Still enforced. Guns bought through a licensed dealer have been used in “crimes of passion” and the number of these crimes has not been affected by the law.

·      1993 Assault Weapons Ban – The law “sunsetted” in 2004; dealers said it was totally ineffective.

So what is the point?

Those who abide by the law aren’t the ones committing crimes against society; the law-abiding People are the only ones affected by gun control laws! Outlaws operate outside the law; they don’t care what the law says, they buy their guns on the “black market” or steal them!

In cities where guns are not permitted, crimes are highest and, if you think about it, it only makes sense: If the law-abiding adhere to the law, the lawless are assured of unarmed victims! Washington, D.C. was the “Murder Capitol” for several years in a row and they had the most restrictive gun laws in the nation! It was the murder capitol because the People were not able to defend themselves and the U.S. Supreme Court agreed with Heller: It is a natural right to protect yourself and your family and possessions!

Thomas Jefferson stated it best, when he said: “Laws that forbid the carrying of arms... disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes... Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man. …Cesare Beccaria, On Crimes and Punishment, quoted by Thomas Jefferson in Commonplace Book, 1774-1776

These facts aren’t just true here, they apply anywhere in the world. Australia outlawed private gun ownership a few years ago and the following is the latest update:

Australian Gun Law Update

Going Down, Down Under

WRITTEN BY SEN. H. L. RICHARDSON, (RET.)

THURSDAY, 18 NOVEMBER 1999 19:00

On April 28th 1996, a maniac shot 35 people in Port Arthur. The media went ballistic, screaming about the evil of "assault" firearms. Australians were shocked. Nothing like this had ever happened in sleepy, peaceful Australia. The shrill cry and incessant anti-gun propaganda paid off and, in just 12 days, Federal resolutions were passed and the states enacted them into laws.

What did they enact? Did they just go after "ugly" guns, those military look-alike assault weapons? Think again! They outlawed every semi-auto, even those "pretty" duck guns, the Browning A5 and the Remington 1100's. They even struck down pump shotguns; the Winchester model 12 and the Remington 870 are two examples. The law read "Any pump shotgun with a magazine capacity of 5 rounds or less."

Do you own a Browning BAR rifle? Banned. How about a Winchester Model 100? Out of luck, all semi-auto hunting rifles were outlawed as well. They didn't miss a one.

You may ask, "Surely they left 22's alone, didn't they?" Nope, the criteria the government used was simple. If it's a semi-auto, it's gone. If caught with one of these "illegal" firearms, the crime was considered serious, punishable by multiple years in prison.

The Australian government offered to buy back all of the listed firearms. They then imposed a 1% tax on everybody to raise the money necessary to secure the "illegal" firearms. The massive 500 million buy back program was quickly, but poorly, implemented. Of the estimated 7 million firearms, roughly 40% are now prohibited. Close to 2.8 million firearms should have been surrendered to authorities. Was it a success? Hardly. Less than 25%, or 640,000 weapons, were turned in.

Gun Control and left-wing politicians said great things about the new law. A university of criminology professor stated, "It is probable that the crime rate will drop by up to 20 percent."

Nothing of the sort happened, in fact just the opposite took place. In 1997, just 12 months after the new laws went into effect, across Australia homicides jumped 3.2 percent, armed robberies were up a whopping 44 percent, assaults up 8.6 and in the state of Victoria there was a 300 percent increase in homicides. Prior to the new dictatorial anti-gun laws, statistics showed a steady decrease in armed robberies with firearms; now, there has been a dramatic increase in break-ins, especially against the elderly.

In 1998, in the state of South Australia, robbery with a firearm increased nearly 60 percent. In 1999, new figures reveal that the assault rates in the state of NSW has risen almost 20 percent.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the crime rate for burglary in America is now substantially less than Australia, Canada, and Britain. The data from a comprehensive study from the University of Chicago [Lott, Mustard] showed that in these same three countries, people were home almost half of the time when the burglaries were committed.

In the US, it was less than 13%. Fear of firearms in the American home was the reason given.

Again, in Australia, Canada and Britain, all handguns were already severely controlled. Failure to yearly re-register in a prompt manner could bring law enforcement to the doorstep to confiscate the firearm.

Reasons must be given why anyone needs a license. The government lists only 10 reasons for owning a firearm-- protection of self and family is not considered a "reasonable" request!

The Second Amendment is not “outdated” anymore than the First Amendment, or the Third, or Fourth, etc. A natural or God-given right is as timeless as nature and God are timeless!

Remember, according to our founding fathers, our 2^nd Amendment is the final assurance that all our natural rights cannot be taken away!