#48 - Should Citizens Be Allowed To Have An AR-15?
I have been asked this simple question several times over the past couple months since the tragedies in Las Vegas and Florida, and I have a simple answer . . . Absolutely.
The Second Amendment has nothing to do with hunting, or sport, it is about protection plain and simple. Protection to ensure that a government never again places the American citizens under tyrannical rule as was the case in the 1700's under King George.
Let's take a look at the Second Amendment and see just what it says:
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.
First off, the Constitution does not give rights to the government, it limits the power of the government. It gives rights only to the people.
Remember we had just come through a very long and hard-fought war for our independence and our very existence against a government that demanded complete rule over all aspects of our lives. The framers of the Constitution did not want to ever see that happen to the citizens again, so they limited the power of the government, and gave the power to enforce that limitation to the people in the Second Amendment.
Ok, the Second Amendment has two very distinct parts to it. Let's take a look at the first part of it: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State". Remember that the Army, the Navy, the Marine Corps and the Air Force did not exist yet, the only thing they had at the time was farmers, shop keepers, blacksmiths, and the like to defend the country with, regular citizens who all owned firearms that could and together and use those firearms as a militia to fight for the country.
They knew that there was a chance that England, or some other foreign government may try to come in and steal away their newly found freedom. They understood the continued need of the militia to ensure their freedom and security as a country. The term State here does not mean the subdivisions that we have in the country, like New York and West Virginia, it meant a Country. To insure the security of a free Country.
Now let's take a closer look. "A well regulated Militia", doesn't that refer to the Army? No it does not, remember that the Army did not exist at that time. Every able-bodied person was considered to be part of the Militia, all the citizens of the country were the Militia.
But it says "a well regulated Militia", so surely they meant to have government regulation over the Militia, right? Incorrect once again. The term "well regulated" was a very common term used at the time of our Independence and it meant something completely different from what many people believe today. The term "well regulated" simply meant that it worked properly, accurately, or effectively. An expensive pocket watch of the time was said to be "well regulated".
Now let's take a look at the second part: "the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed". Remember, the Constitution does not give rights or power to the government, it limits the government. The Constitution only gives rights to the people. It did not give the government the right to keep and bear arms, only the people were to be armed, and it ensured that the government could never take away those arms. Remember, it did not say "the right of the people should not be infringed unless you think it's a good idea", it said "shall not be infringed".
So, that means we can all have black-powdered muskets then right? No, it did not say that we had a "right to keep and bear black-powdered muskets", it said to keep and bear arms. What does the word arms mean? Arms simply means armaments or weapons. That could mean anything from a simple pocket knife to an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile.
The nuclear arms race was a competition for supremacy in nuclear warfare between the United States, the Soviet Union, and their respective allies during the Cold War. Those nuclear missiles and bombs are considered "arms".
The purpose of the Second Amendment was safety and security. You have a God-given inalienable right (one that can not be taken away from you by anyone, including the government, or any law) to self-preservation and self-defense. You have the right to defend yourself against anyone who would threaten the safety of you or your family, and you have a right to use whatever weapons sufficient in that task.
If someone were attacking your family with a firearm, would you limit your defense to a slingshot? No, you would use a firearm as well. What if the attacker was using an armored personnel carrier and a shoulder launched grenade against your family, would you have the Constitutional right to use the same weapons against them? Absolutely you would. Remember the Second Amendment was put in place to keep the government from becoming tyrannical and taking over to enslave the citizens the way that England had. You have a right to have access to the same types of weapons that are likely to be used against you.
So, am I advocating for everyone to have ICBM's and shoulder-launched rockets? No, I am not, although they would be within the spirit of the Second Amendment if they did.
The Second Amendment does not only give us a right to own arms, it gives us the right to bear arms. The word bear means to carry. The Second Amendment gives us the absolute right to carry our arms, not just to have them at home locked in a safe where they are of little use in self-defense. They are to be carried on your person. Any state or municipality that has passed laws banning the open carry of firearms is in clear opposition to and infringing upon the Second Amendment rights of its citizens.
The role of government is not to rule over the people, the government is to be ruled BY the people. The government only has what limited power we allow them to have to serve the needs of the citizens. Unfortunately most in government have forgotten the true role and place of the government,
Remember just four years ago what happened with the Bundy's when the Bureau of Land Management and other law enforcement agencies tried to enforce an unjust and unconstitutional policies against the Bundy family. Citizens rose up against the BLM and the government in an armed standoff.
Countless incidents like the Bundy's, Ruby Ridge, the Waco Siege at Mount Carmel, and many others remind us of the need to always be prepared for tyranny from within our own government.
The only reason the government has not already taken over is because so many of the citizens are armed, and the government knows that the citizens will not go down without a fight. That constant reminder helps to keep a tenuous leash on the government's ever over-reaching grab for power and control of the citizens.
As long as we have a Second Amendment, we will have a free State. Once we have lost the Second Amendment we have lost everything.
Remember, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and all of the other true patriots that fought for our independence and the freedoms that we enjoy today were labeled as traitors to the government, until we used our arms to defeat them and send them back across the pond.
Never Submit . . . Never Surrender . . . Never Accept Tyranny
