“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
Whether it is college campuses, Amish communities, or other gun-free zones, bloodthirsty maniacal men will find a way to quench their cravings. Therefore, gun control laws do not work -- because they are based on the erroneous assumption that criminals will obey the law. They don’t and won’t; hence leaving law-abiding citizens defenseless in the face of danger, as so happened that tragic July evening at the Aurora, Colorado movie theater where guns were not permitted, and a man who called himself “The Joker” went on a shooting rampage.
In addition to the need for self-defense, our Founders understood the bearing of arms was essential to protecting this country from tyrannical governments. Fresh on their minds was the revolutionary clash between the tax-happy British government and a population of armed and ragtag citizens with the dream of freedom burning in their souls.
Much to the dismay of gun law activists who claim the Second Amendment pertains solely to “militia” (military) service, and who predictably crawl out from underneath their rocks after every mass shooting, the 2008 Supreme Court Case, District of Columbia v. Heller, ruled the Second Amendment indeed secures an individual’s right to possess firearms, regardless of military service. Nonetheless, these activists continue their march ever forward, in an endeavor to infringe upon that which “shall not be infringed.”
It is really about perspective. Every life is precious. Each of the 12 lives snuffed out in that Colorado movie theatre is 12 lives too many representing untold numbers of family members whose lives are forever changed. No amount of gun control will bring them back nor will it stop the next psychopath from taking his rage out on society. Zip. Zero. Zilch. If every last gun was shipped across our borders fast and furiously, murderers would still find a way to kill.
This conversation is not about gun control; it’s about people control. Gotham City, er, Chicago, has one of the strictest gun laws in the country--so severe, the laws were deemed as unconstitutional awhile back. But that didn’t stop former Mayor Richard Daley and current Mayor Rahm Emanuel from attempting everything in their power to maneuver through the gray areas and around the red tape, God bless them. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, over Memorial Day weekend 12 people were killed by gunfire and 45 were shot and wounded. In the time it takes to play a major league soccer match (90 minutes), 13 people were shot. By mid-June, murder was up 35 percent from last year with 228 people killed. Statistically speaking, our troops are safer in Kabul, Afghanistan than in Chicago. Where was that story in the national news?
Less might be more when it comes to gun regulation. According to the Washington Times, violent crime peaked 25 years ago when just “a handful of states” had conceal-carry laws. To no coincidence, gun sales have increased over the past four years, and currently 41 states have differing versions of gun-carrying laws, yet violent crime has decreased according to the FBI in June. According to Pajamas Media, “States with the highest gun ownership have the lowest firearms homicide rates” and “States with the lowest firearms ownership average the highest firearm and non-firearm homicide rates.”
Gun control activists have it all wrong because they make incredibly naïve assumptions about human nature. Given the chance others were packing heat in theater number 9 at the Century 16 in Aurora, Colorado; the story may have ended much differently for the cold-blooded killer.
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