There’s no doubt that the gun rights debate is among the most polarizing of topics in America right now. Over the last decade or so, it has repeatedly been in the news because of mass shootings and terrorist attacks.
Gun control advocates march for laws restricting the Second Amendment by pulling at the heartstrings of citizens across the country. They say that their “child’s life is more important than your right to own a gun.” School shootings are blamed on “lax gun laws,” and other mass shootings are pointed to as an example of why we need to confiscate guns.
Reality Check
All of that could not be farther from the truth. The fact of the matter is, it’s more important now than ever that we protect our right to bear arms.
When our Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution they left a lot of it up to interpretation. The one amendment that was very clear in its intention and wording is the Second Amendment:
“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 Founders knew that the only way the citizenry could protect all of the other rights is if they have a mechanism to fight back against tyranny. That’s why they ensured that our framework included the right to take up arms and said it is a right that “shall not be infringed” upon.
The Founders Knew We’d Need Guns
It wasn’t just protection from the government that the Founders predicted we’d need; it was also protection to our right life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Time and again we have heard stories about shootings taking place in gun-free zones. These are areas where our Constitutionally-protected freedom has been stripped from us and left everyone vulnerable to attack.
The only proven way to protect people is to protect our right to bear arms in all places. There have been numerous examples of this.
In August 2019, a man walked into Walmart in Springfield, MO armed with two firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. A former firefighter saw the man, pulled out his own firearm, and held the would-be mass shooter at gunpoint until police arrived.
In 2017, a man walked into an automotive repair shop in Rockledge, FL and shot two people. Two armed employees, Don Smith and Nathan Taylor, wounded the shooter and held him at gunpoint until police arrived.
In 2018, a possible mass shooting at a McDonald’s in Alabama was stopped by a father who was carrying his gun.
As the country becomes more polarized on gun rights, some wonder if there will come a time when they’re going to be tasked with protecting their freedoms from the tyrannical government our Founders worried so much about.
The idea that we need to regulate guns and infringe on the right to bear arms is not just wrong; it’s incredibly dangerous. In fact, the opposite is true. The Second Amendment has never been more important than now to ensure the protection of our rights.
Copyright 2019, TargetLiberty.org
