Firearms

Here is a link to the U.S. Constitution.

For a better understanding of what was involved prior to our revolution, check out Prelude to Revolution.

PBS has an excellent game called Liberty: The Road to Revolution which is great for learning about the American Revolution.

I believe in the same principle's as our fore fathers did and that is every law abiding and peaceable citizen of the United States has the unalienable right to keep and bear arms. It is a personal choice and a responsibility that I do not take lightly. I currently own a Glock 17 handgun, one of the safest pistols on the market. I have paid for top notch training that I received from a local law enforcement officer and his partner, who was a LEO, but now works in the private sector.

I grew up around firearms. My father would take me out shooting with him all the time. We mainly shot with his .22 rifle that he had bought while in the Air Force. We would also use shotguns, a 30-30 rifle and compound bows. We did hunt together for a short time, but our hunting grounds were eventually ruined by the local government who sold off adjacent land that was used for a dumping ground for sludge. I was not a sports hunter, I ate what I shot.

Having been introduced to firearms at such an early age, I have the deepest amount of respect for the power that they have when wielded by someone. I was never taught to fear the firearm. I knew that I could only touch them when out with my father or if someone attempted to break into the house when I was the only one at home. I was taught that they were not toys and needed to be treated with the utmost caution. The firearms were kept in the closet, unloaded and I always had access to ammunition in case I ever needed to protect myself at home. I believe that this kind of upbringing is essential today. If the parents and schools do not take the time to teach the youth of today about firearms, their only education about them will come from the television and movies. The NRA has a wonderful program that teaches children not to touch firearms and, if they should find one, to go and tell an adult immediately. For the life of me I cannot understand why anyone would object to a child learning these fundamentals.

On the law. I believe that the majority of the gun laws on the books are unconstitutional. It was a right given to us, the people, in the Bill of Rights. Our fore fathers argued this particular right quite a bit, they wanted it to be clear that the whole of the people were to be armed in order to protect themselves, their family, their home, their state and their country. It would also guarantee that they would always have the ability to hunt game and to participate in the training of arms. This right can be traced back to a time in England when the people were armed and lived in relative peace with their ruler. If you have not read the Constitution, the Federalist Papers and the Anti-Federalist Papers, then you need to do so before writing any comments to me whatsoever.

The Brady Bill was a piece of emotional legislature that does nothing. It is currently not used in 31 states and Washington, DC because they fall under the exemptions. 18 states and Washington, DC were exempt the day the bill was signed into law. Of all of the thousands that it turned away, most were because of administration foul ups and those that were actually felons didn't have to fear prosecution. To date there have been less than 10 prosecutions by the federal government against felons who attempted to purchase a firearm from a FFL dealer. The 1968 Gun Control Act states that it is illegal for a felon or drug dealer to even touch a gun, let alone purchase one. Touching of a gun by a felon or drug dealer is punishable by 5 years in a federal prison. All studies that were conducted before the Brady Bill was signed into law showed that waiting periods do not affect gun crime. California has one of the worst problems and they have a 15 day waiting period and some of the strictest gun laws on the books.

So what is the solution? I believe that our children need to be educated on their rights and on the proper use of firearms. They need to be shown cause and effect when using them. There are some great programs out there, but they are being threatened by people who do not understand the true nature of our current problem. I would roll out the Eddie Eagle program to all grade schools. Education of the high schools would be done by local and federal police officers who would educate the up and coming adults the consequences of using a gun legally and illegally. Doctors and lawyers could also be brought in to educate on the specifics. We need to make our government enforce the laws that are currently on the books, at this date there are over 22,000 gun laws. Richmond, Virginia has shown what can happen when just one law (the 1968 Gun Control Act) is properly enforced. They call it Project Exile and it does as advertised. If anyone is caught in the act of committing a crime and has a firearm on their person, they will go to federal prison for 5 years. To date, they have taken 600 illegal firearms off their streets, have a conviction rate of 86% (which is extremely high) and the average sentence is 4.86 years. Criminals are afraid to carry a gun in Richmond. Violent crime and murder have been drastically reduced in the city.

This page hasn't been updated for some time and I thought that I should continue to add to this page as I learn more and more about history, law and politics. I have dropped all support for the Project Exile that the NRA helped passed. Studying the histories of other countries and of the United States shows that this is just a really bad law. If history stays the course then this law (and others in the same vein) will eventually be used to target the law abiding gun owners and strip them of their liberties. The truth is that if our lawmakers were interested in really stopping the criminal problem, then they would pass laws that targets the criminals instead of passing vague and general laws that do nothing but reduce the ability of the morally responsible gun owners to hunt, sport shoot, or defend the lives of themselves and their loved ones.

I have also been horrified to see what the NRA has brought down upon gun owners in the past three decades. The NRA has sold out gun owners more times than protecting their rights. Their lobbyists have blocked and destroyed pro self defense laws numerous times and they refuse to protect and/or promote certain firearms because they do not perceive any benefit to hunters or sport shooters. There is a movement to make the NRA into an organization that would be more constructive in protecting the liberties of the American gun owners. Click here to see how the NRA has sometimes failed to protect our rights. Someone should make them aware of the fact that the Second Amendment was passed in order for the people to provide the final and ultimate check against government tyranny. For those who think that the United States will never downward spiral into oppression, you should read the history books and look at how uninvolved the public is with politics. No matter where you fall in the political spectrum, we need to encourage people to vote so that their voices can be heard within the halls of our government. The current apathy among American voters is quite disturbing and, as of this writing, there are 60 million eligible voters who are not registered for the next election.

I have collected some quotesand even more quotes and some case law on the Second Amendment.

Links that I have collected to keep informed on the issues of guns and gun control.

Armed Citizens protecting their lives and the lives of those around them. Similar links found on my links page.

This Second Amendment Sisters Inc. RingSurf site owned by ZX2Dragon's Home Page.

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