"Laws that forbid the carrying of arms ... disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes ... Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man."
The above-stated summary is a quote by Thomas Jefferson, Father of the Declaration of Independence. In his time, it was clearly understood that mankind had the basic fundamental right, regardless of whether or not any government granted "permission" or not, to defend him/herself and his/her property from physical harm and tyranny. Regardless of any further hyperbole, the concept of owning a gun is consistent with self-preservation.
The day our youth begin to read basic texts like the Federalist Papers is the day that they will realize what all Americans of past generations knew to be their birthright. They will realize that the blood, sweat, and tears of patriots have been shed throughout two centuries only to now have venal and vulgar people flush away that sacred blood and the sacred rights purchased with that same blood in order to satisfy the craven arbitrary and capricious whims of an axe-grinding media, amoral attorneys and base career politicians.
Today, the media reports on gun availability as if it was the SOLE cause of homicides. The manner in which the news media reports on "guns used by students, or gangs, or the delusional investor ..." suggests that they are pandering to a very ignorant public as they reason that "kids are having too much access to guns." However, such reporting is misrepresenting to the public the truth of the matter. The truth of the matter is that those people today who are using guns to kill are "Students on Ritalin", or "Kids Whose Baby-Boomer Parents Just Don't Care or Are Too Busy to Teach Discipline", or are "Those People Who Have Learned in School & Home to Be Disrespectful." That these are the true issues behind violence committed with guns, and not the availability of guns themselves, I firmly oppose any and all legislation restricting gun possession, including taxation.
Possessing weapons has always gone hand-in-hand with liberty and freedom, and not with the causes of death. Occasionally, citizens do get a wake-up call for the true reason to preserving our rights to bear arms. For example, Ruby Ridge, Idaho, or Waco, Texas, are consequences of (our) government running amok. These incidents are certainly the unintended consequences of bureaucrats who have forgotten who they were hired to serve.
Causes of illegal death by people using guns involve severe psychosomatic abnormalities. Sometimes the death occurs in the heat of passion, but more often it does not.
It is so easy to surrender to the demagoguery of certain politicians and the news media who consistently beat the drums for the disarmament of the citizenry, and by registration and taxation of gun ownership. But to succumb to this "feel-good" legislation does not get to the real causes and reasons why people are killing people.
As senator, I would oppose any legislation that restricted the freedom of owning a firearm. Naturally, I believe only responsible adults can own guns.
Further, I would get to the heart of the issue - violence - by ensuring that Parents are completely held accountable for the civil misconduct of their children; and I would legislate to hold the criminal, who might be an adolescent or juvenile, criminally liable for their criminal behavior. Sending this kind of message to potentially careless and non-controlling parents would strengthen the family as well as protect the citizenry.
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