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The Second Amendment is Not about Hunting
First things first: the Second Amendment to the Constitution is simple and clear. The version of it that was ratified by the states reads as follows:
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.
Following the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, President Obama and a host of senators and congressmen launched an all-out assault on so-called “assault weapons”, high-capacity magazines, and gun ownership in general. A few days ago, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed sweeping gun control legislation. At the signing ceremony, he said,
“I am proud to be part of this government, not just because New York has the first bill, but because New York has the best bill…. I’m proud to be a New Yorker because New York is doing something — because we are fighting back.”
Others had a different perspective. According to the New York Times,
Gun-rights advocates denounced the measure. The New York State Rifle and Pistol Association said New York gun owners “should be ashamed and afraid of our state,” and the National Rifle Association said, “These gun-control schemes have failed in the past and will have no impact on public safety and crime.”
Ordinary people feel helpless and afraid when they see gruesome images of senseless mass shootings, and they wonder if they and members of their families will be next. Their feelings are understandable, but as many of us have pointed out, guns are not the problem. In every case where mass shootings have occurred, the person using the gun was the problem. Despite Governor Cuomo’s euphoria, banning guns of any type and/or restricting magazine capacity will do nothing to solve that problem. In fact, a Harvard study indicates that restricting guns only makes the problem worse:
The study, which just appeared in Volume 30, Number 2 of the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy (pp. 649-694), set out to answer the question in its title: “Would Banning Firearms Reduce Murder and Suicide? A Review of International and Some Domestic Evidence.” Contrary to conventional wisdom, and the sniffs of our more sophisticated and generally anti-gun counterparts across the pond, the answer is “no.” And not just no, as in there is no correlation between gun ownership and violent crime, but an emphatic no, showing a negative correlation: as gun ownership increases, murder and suicide decreases.
Even so, yesterday thousands of our fellow citizens marched in Washington to support gun control legislation for the nation as a whole. They were not completely uninformed, but they were not well-informed, either. If they understood the problem, they would realize that the best defense against armed attackers is armed citizens. That’s exactly what the evidence tells us, but pandering politicians being what they are can’t resist the opportunity to capitalize on an opportunity, and the Sandy Hook massacre gave them one. As Ben Shapiro said so eloquently, they and their enablers in the media, people like CNN’s Piers Morgan, are “standing on the graves of children of Sandy Hook” to advance their political agendas.
Since ours is a constitutional form of government, as citizens we have a duty to delve deeply into the rationale of our Founding Fathers who risked their lives and property to win for us the freedoms that we enjoy, freedoms that are spelled out in our Constitution, before we enact legislation that restricts those freedoms in any way. With that thought in mind, let’s take a look at what some of them said about our Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms:
George Washington: “Firearms stand next in importance to the constitution itself. They are the American people’s liberty teeth and keystone under independence … from the hour the Pilgrims landed to the present day, events, occurences and tendencies prove that to ensure peace security and happiness, the rifle and pistol are equally indispensable … the very atmosphere of firearms anywhere restrains evil interference — they deserve a place of honor with all that’s good.”
Thomas Jefferson: “Those who hammer their guns into plowshares will plow for those who do not.”
George Mason, co-author of the Second Amendment : “I ask, Sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people. To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them.”
Our Founding Fathers’ perspectives are just as important and relevant today as they were more than 200 years ago because the nature of man hasn’t changed over time. The world is still full of people who would enslave us and compel us to do their bidding if they could. Our nation’s capital is still loaded with elected officials who believe they know what’s best for the rest of us, and they are willing to use whatever force is necessary to subjugate us and make us fall into line behind their way of thinking even if it violates our constitutional rights.
As a current case in point, seemingly innocuous healthcare legislation that was proposed by the president, passed by Congress, and approved by the Supreme Court is running roughshod over our religious freedoms that are protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution. Reasonable people can easily conclude that they would do much more to violate our rights if they could, that is if we would let them. As unappealing as this possibility is, the day may come when we will need our weapons to fend off an overreaching and tyrannical government, as our Founding Fathers knew could happen.
Unfortunately, President Obama doesn’t get it even though he is reputed to be a constitutional scholar. Evidence of that fact can be found in an interview that he gave to The New Republic a few days ago. The president said,
…I have a profound respect for the traditions of hunting that trace back in this country for generations. And I think those who dismiss that out of hand make a big mistake.
Part of being able to move this forward is understanding the reality of guns in urban areas are very different from the realities of guns in rural areas. And if you grew up and your dad gave you a hunting rifle when you were ten, and you went out and spent the day with him and your uncles, and that became part of your family’s traditions, you can see why you’d be pretty protective of that.
So it’s trying to bridge those gaps that I think is going to be part of the biggest task over the next several months. And that means that advocates of gun control have to do a little more listening than they do sometimes.
The Second Amendment is not about hunting, and it’s not about where we live. It’s about our right to defend ourselves if/when the need arises as our Founding Fathers made perfectly clear.
This SnyderTalk editorial first appeared in American Thinker.
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Ezekiel 44: 1-3
Then He brought me back by the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces the east; and it was shut. Yahweh said to me, “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for Yahweh God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut. As for the prince, he shall sit in it as prince to eat bread before Yahweh; he shall enter by way of the porch of the gate and shall go out by the same way.”
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His Name is Yahweh explains why the Name of God, Yahweh, is so important. It’s available in eBook format and in paperback.
- God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This [Yahweh] is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.” (Exodus 3: 15)
- “Therefore behold, I am going to make them know—this time I will make them know My power and My might; and they shall know that My name is Yahweh.” (Jeremiah 16: 21)
- “Behold, the days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; and He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely; and this is His name by which He will be called, ‘Yahweh our righteousness.’” (Jeremiah 23: 5-6)
- Yeshua said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” (John 8: 58)
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Hosea 4: 6
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
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‘Regional threats aren’t on hold while Israel forms gov’t’
Syrian opposition say over 20 killed in Homs
Khamenei aide: Attack on Syria is an attack on Iran
Fatah terror group notes found on suspects
EU’s Ashton pays tribute to Holocaust survivors
Police arrest three Betar fans for racist jeers
Clashes continue in fourth day of violence in Egypt
‘Black Bloc’ youths storm Egypt’s protest scene
Netanyahu: No quick fix solutions with Palestinians
PA tells Tunisian president to cancel Gaza visit
United Nations to investigate Israeli drone strikes
Patriot missile go active on Turkey’s Syria border
‘Iran would definitely use nuclear weapon on Israel’
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Iron Dome Deployed in North to Defend Against Syrian WMDs
Violence Returns to Egypt’s Iconic Tahrir Square
Israeli ‘Hurricane’ Victims to Receive Gov’t Aid
Jewish Film Broadcast into Iran on Eve of Holocaust Memorial Day
‘Anonymous’ Hacks Govt Website, Vows to Release Classified Info
New & Improved: Katyusha Rocket Threat Graphic
Latest Syrian Air Raid Kills 8 Children
Syria Planned Attack in Mecca – Report
Nasrallah: Israel Has No Central Leadership
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Global anti-Semitic incidents on the rise, report suggests
PM: Syrian chemical weapons won’t wait for new government
‘Many history teachers in Europe don’t mention the Holocaust’
Preliminary coalition talks already underway behind the scenes
Knesset tells dual-citizen MKs to ditch their foreign passports
Jordanian king: Time for two-state solution running out
Abbas asks Israel to let in Palestinians fleeing Syria
Nasrallah: Ariel Sharon was the last king of Israel
Egypt in turmoil after court sentences 21 soccer fans to death
Iranian official: Attack on Syria is attack on Iran
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Russia warns Israel, West against attack on Iran
British party shows mixed views on lawmaker’s vilification of Jews
French, Malians reach Timbuktu in rebel-held north: source
Facing Constraints, US Urges Political Progress in Mali
Syrian militias target civilians in Homs, opposition says
North Korean leader indicates plan to conduct nuclear test
Fears over N Korea nuclear plans
N Korea vows ‘important’ measures
31 killed in clashes over court verdict in Egypt’s Port Said
Afghan bombs kill 23 policemen in 24 hours
Venezuela urged to address prisons; 55 reported dead in riot
We have enough evidence to nail David Headley over here: Mumbai cops
Iraq troops kill five protesters during Fallujah clash
Obama: Gun-control advocates have to listen more
Thousands march in D.C. for gun control
Iowa Senator Tom Harkin won’t run for re-election
Government says schools must provide access to sports for the disabled
Jindal hits a nerve with speech before GOP governors
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Michael Rubin: Is Turkey the New Pakistan?— Last week, while participating at a conference on Afghanistan at Fort Hood, I met some U.S. officers who served in Turkey a bit over a decade ago. While they clearly loved their time in Turkey, they noted how many of their Turkish counterparts had quietly fled the army and Turkey itself over the past few years. Many disagree with the Islamism which Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoǧan, and fear his arbitrary justice, as well as the blind eye so many in Europe and our own Foggy Bottom who care little so long as the victims are soldiers.
Ruthie Blum: Has Hungary forgotten the Holocaust?— Let us all refrain from making a mockery of the phrase “never again” by acknowledging that the past is far from behind us.
Boaz Bismuth: Now, Morsi’s the target— This isn’t what the Muslim Brotherhood had in mind when it deposed the military from power and decided, like a mature adult, to run the country on its own.
Mati Tuchfeld: What kind of a negotiator is Lapid?— Will he show stubbornness on every little clause or will he be flexible and allow for some wiggle room?
Silvan Shalom: Remembering our way to a better world— Our obligation as Jews is to teach the memory of the Holocaust to the young generation; it is an integral part of our being and our national genetic code.
Richard Baehr: Party loyalty rules— After Chuck Hagel is sworn in as defense secretary he will answer to only one man, the president; not to 100 senators whose votes he seeks today.
Dan Margalit: Coalition building: competing priorities— It’s important to note who will become the government’s primary envoy, and who will simply be filling space.
Steve Chapman: The Cloud Over China— Beijing has some seriously bad air. How bad? On a scale of 1 to 500, the United States Environmental Protection Agency says anything over 100 is unhealthy and anything above 400 is an emergency. Recently, the pollution index for Beijing hit 755. For purposes of breathing, it’s like being downwind of a forest fire while smoking a cigar.
Michael Brown: The Church is Not a Closet— There are many people today who despise conservative religious beliefs, but they are quick to say, “We don’t want to restrict your religious freedoms in any way. Just keep your beliefs in the church.” What they fail to realize is that the church is not a closet, and it is our private beliefs that fuel our public acts. Shouldn’t it be this way?
Clarice Feldman: The Administration ‘s New Fronts on the War on Women—This week, the administration that rode to a second term decrying a fictitious war on women by the opposition, opened real fronts on the war on women, perpetuating feminism’s worst inconsistencies.
Claudia Rosett: Shocked! Shocked! By Human Rights Violations in North Korea—The UN finally notices a totalitarian hellhole. What, if anything, happens next?
Derek Hunter: Why Republicans Are Poised To Lose The Second Amendment Battle—You have to give progressives credit. They’re nothing if not thorough. When an opportunity to limit the Second Amendment presented itself in the Sandy Hook massacre, regardless how tasteless it was to exploit that opportunity, they went full bore toward their goal.
Daniel J. Mitchell: Expect Civil Disobedience if Politicians Try to Undermine the Second Amendment— So I was very interested to see a new poll about issues related to the Second Amendment, and I was particularly gratified to see that an overwhelming majority of gun owners would not surrender their constitutional rights if the jackals in Washington approved a gun ban.
Robert Oscar Lopez: The Oncoming Human Rights Crisis…Caused by the LGBT Movement—It started, as so many human rights disasters do, in the name of love. What it’s become is the new Middle Passage.
Marita Noon: Renewables Fail the Cost Test, Again— The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has just released their Energy Infrastructure Update report, which shows how much new electric generating capacity was installed for 2012. According to the report, renewable energy sources (biomass, geothermal, solar, hydro, and wind) accounted for 49.10% of all new domestic electrical generating capacity installed in 2012 for a total of 12,956 MW. More than a quarter of that new capacity (25.29%, or 3,276 MW) reportedly came on-line in the month of December 2012 alone and wind led the way in 2012 with 164 new “units” totaling 10,689 MW.
Selwyn Duke: The Great Gun Debate: Selwyn Duke vs. Brett Joshpe—A few weeks ago, author and Manhattan-based lawyer Brett Joshpe penned a pro-gun-control piece for AT whose thrust was that conservatives need to be sensible with respect to firearms legislation.
Glenn Fairman: The Moral Force of Fatherhood—Although conceived in compassion, programs such as AFDC had the perverse consequence of driving the male from the home and causing the role of provider to fall upon Uncle Sam.
Tad DeHaven: Federal Money to the States Isn’t ‘Free’— The three layers of government in the United States no longer resemble the tidy layer cake that existed in the 19th century. Instead, they are like a jumbled marble cake with responsibilities fragmented across multiple layers. Federal aid has made it difficult for citizens to figure out which level of government is responsible for particular policy outcomes. All three levels of government play big roles in such areas as transportation and education, thus making accountability difficult. Politicians have become skilled at pointing fingers of blame at other levels of government, as was evident in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. When every government is responsible for an activity, no government is responsible.
Austin Hill: Equal Opportunity Destroyers: Politicians Of All Types Damage Small Business America—It’s not just an out-of-control IRS or EPA. And it’s not merely the punitive demands and restraints of the new federal healthcare law.
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Blessings in the Book of Revelation is a book that you need to read, especially now. There are blessings throughout the Scriptures but Revelation is the only book in the Bible actually containing a specific blessing for reading it. It’s repeated twice, once at the beginning and again at the end. This is the reason that I believe Revelation should be the first step toward studying biblical prophecy. Though not easy to do, Revelation can be broken down and understood by anyone, not just the academic elite. So, Revelation’s blessings are for everyone. Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
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Other Books by Neil Snyder
- Stand! is a suspense novel that exposes the lies, corruption, and greed underlying the theory that man-made CO2 emissions are responsible for global warming. Professor Wes Carlyle and Karen Sterling, his research collaborator, carefully scan the audience for their would-be attacker—a member of the enviro-gestapo who has been following them for days. Wes spots his man in the back of the room leaning against the wall. Suddenly, another man in the audience steps forward and moves toward Karen at a menacing pace. With a vicious stroke, he swings a billy club at her head. Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
- What Will You Do with the Rest of Your Life? deals with a question that every Christian has to consider: what should I do with my life? Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
- Falsely Accused is a true story about a young woman who was accused of committing a double homicide. It’s about a travesty of justice, and it reveals Yahweh intervening in the life of a believer to rescue her from danger in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. Everyone will enjoy the book, but young people in particular need to read it because the mistakes made that led to the problem could have been avoided. They were the kinds of mistakes that young people are prone to make. As they say, forewarned is forearmed. Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
