Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition: A Victory for the Second Amendment

The recent 5-4 decision by the US Supreme Court, giving citizens in the District of Columbia the right to own a handgun will set a precedent for all states in the future. Detractors of this decision, including its disapproval by FBI Director Robert Mueller lament this as planting the seeds for violent crime in the near future.

Well I have news for those naysayers; we already have more violent crime than should be tolerated in this country. Director Mueller even said that this act could result as “incubators of terrorism” on our college campuses (10. What the heck is that supposed to mean? If he’s so worried about campus terrorists wreaking havoc at the student unions, then maybe they should turn their attention towards the preaching of radical left wing professors that poison and indoctrinate our politically naïve college age youth with Third World revolutionary politics. Such was the case of former University of Colorado Professor Ward Churchill and other left wing loons that hold college teaching positions around the country, who say that 9/11 was an inside job and that America is the source of all that is bad.

The parents of these kids, who spend tens of thousands of dollars of their hard earned money, only to end up with a 22 year old who can not think independently, who questions their faith while failing to question the atheistic rants of an academic demagogue and becoming imbued with a loss of national identity and patriotism. Yeah, I don’t want to put a gun in their hands either. However, I do not think you have to worry about a 21 year old church going, National Rifle Association member going out on a three state shooting spree. In fact, I have one of those living next door and I am darn glad he’s there. He’s actually 30 years old, has a wife and two children and is a former Marine, but you get my point.

I live in a semi rural neighbor hood in South Florida where there is every kind of wacko character and criminal element you can imagine. My wife and I are blessed to have been flanked by three God fearing blue blooded American families who look out for each other. Fortunately the State of Florida also has a generous castle and home protection laws that allow home owners to adequately protect their homes from predators (2).

A couple of weeks ago, someone in a seriously altered state, pounded loudly on our front door at 1am in the morning, demanding to come in. It startled me to say the least. Realizing right away that it was not one of my neighbors and that this person was not in some state of distress, I made it clear in no uncertain terms that it was in their interest to leave the property immediately. I later called the police who later conferred with me regarding this individual who had done similar acts on a half dozen houses that night. I also called my neighbors (who also called the police) immediately after the person left. The police officer whom I spoke to was in full support my intention to protect my family by whatever means necessary to perform that function. The fact was that I was ready to employ my Glock 10 millimeter, should the said perpetrator forcefully breach the outer constructs of my home did not alarm the officer at all..

 Every police officer I have talked to has fully supported a home owner’s responsible use of firearms. While the emotional baggage that would probably come from the employment of deadly force might be difficult to live with, I will protect my family first and deal with the baggage later. Home invaders are becoming far more bold, daring and desperate, often murdering their victims for whatever twisted reason. Some of the more sophisticated ones are even wearing body armor in anticipating an armed home owner which is why I tell my friends to become familiar and receive training in the use of firearms that can pack a considerable punch such as shotguns and larger caliber handguns. Many police and sheriff’s departments around the country offer free classes in basic and combat handgun training and tactics.

Does that mean everyone should own a firearm? Of course not! If a person is a maniac or mentally unstable, or too young without adult supervision or if a person has not sought and acquired proper training and acquaintance with the law, a criminal record and any other number of good reasons, whatever they may be; then they should not be able to acquire one. That is why there is nothing wrong with background checks to weed out the bad guys.

Some people are terrified of guns and that is understandable however, a predator is more likely to strike if they think the victim is not armed, which makes this argument in my opinion a settled issue. One only has to review the history of the Old West to find out that private gun ownership was the only way a law abiding person could protect themselves from all of the predatory elements that one was sure to encounter along the journey. The end results are that violent crime decreases when gun laws favor sensible law abiding citizens (3).

And, besides everything else, private gun ownership is in the Bill of Rights! Who am I to argue with the Founding Fathers? The day the Federal Government repeals the Second Amendment, that is the day we move back to back to the hills of my native West Virginia where the State Motto is “Montani Semper Liberi”; (Mountaineers are always free!). Long live the Second Amendment!

Footnotes

1. Washington Post, June 30, 2008, “FBI chief: Gun Ruling makes campuses less secure”, Associated Press

2. Korwin, Alan, 2005, “Florida Castle Doctrine Protects the Innocent”, Bloomfield Press, online article

3. Lott, John Jr., 1998, “More Guns, Less Crime” (Interview), American Enterprise Institute, online archive