The Second Amendment: Ensuring Freedom

Photo courtesy of jaz1111

Most of us are aware that in addition to the Constitution there is something called the Bill of Rights. These amendments to the Constitution were added because of some concern that the federal government might overstep the bounds of their authority and our nation would, once again, live under tyranny of the few. The Bill of Rights, as I understand it, was written to ensure certain liberties for the individual and the states. At this point in the game centralized government was limited while the states still retained a great degree of authority. Sadly, the 10th amendment seems to have faded along with the ink with which it was written. The federal government now holds nearly absolute power to trump any state law that is deemed, by way of constitutional review, to be "unconstitutional." As our ideology shifts from liberty and freedom to control and authoritarianism we have seen the legislative, judicial and executive branches of the government grasp more and more power. In part, I believe this was part of the reason that the southern states broke from the Union during the Civil War (Of course, slavery was a major issue but lets be honest there were other reasons too.) 

One of the rights delineated in the Bill of Rights is the citizen's right to bear arms. It should not be news to anyone that this right has come under heavy fire in the past few decades, and sometimes not without reason. To the average person it looks an awful lot like there is a connection between violent crime and firearms. Therefore, it would seem like the logical thing to do would be to eliminate firearms. Let me say, I am not angry with people who believe this way, I just think it is a misguided solution to a serious problem. 

Currently, many people try to reinterpret the second amendment to say that it was meant to allow for a National Guard of sorts. For those unfamiliar, the National Guard is the military force under the direct control of the individual states. These are part-time soldiers and airmen who serve "one weekend a month and two weeks in the summer." Now, I can tell you from first hand experience that the federal government can, and does, use the National Guard for its purposes. Again, I have absolutely no problem with this. If it were not for the National Guard we may not have had the manpower to engage in both the war in Afghanistan and Iraq.

However, there is a problem. The National Guard of today bears little to no resemblance to the militia that fought the Revolutionary War. These were men who went about their daily lives and business until the need arose for fighting men, citizen soldiers, to defend their land and communities. At that point they would gather their own arms and gear, go fight and then return home as the situation allowed. One of the greatest problems that faced the British, and has kept enemies at bay for years, is the fact that everyone was armed in America. It is one thing to engage and defeat a standing army, it is something completely different to defeat an entire nation of armed citizens. We have seen the truth of that in both Iraq and Afghanistan. There is certainly no formal army in either theater but there is an armed insurgency that has proven very difficult to defeat. 

With all of that being said, it is clear that the right to bear arms has great importance when it comes to national security. In effect, it is a very real deterrent to those unfriendly nations who would like to do us harm.  The last war we fought on our own soil was 150 years ago and it was between ourselves! 

The second important part of the 2nd Amendment has to do with protection from tyranny. The Founding Fathers knew all too well what it was like to live under tyranny and fight for freedom. Without freedom of arms it would have been like shooting fish in a barrel for the British during the revolution. This amendment is one of the most daring checks established by our founders. It is a built-in check against the government they were establishing to help keep that government from violating the freedom of the citizens. The last thing they wanted was for their government to overstep its bounds like the one they just fought for freedom against. Thus far, it has worked fairly well.

The third aspect of the 2nd Amendment is that it ensures the individual's right to self-protection. I am in no way a promoter of senseless violence, but rest assured that if violence is brought to my family and those I care about I will exercise my God-given right of defense. Just as an armed citizenry has kept foreign invaders at bay it also keeps would-be evil doers at bay. The bottom line truth is that criminals that will break the law and commit violent crimes will also break the law and find illegal sources for firearms. Furthermore, guns are not the source of criminal activity, evil hearts are. Crime has been alive and well since the beginning of time. Brutus didn't kill Cesar with a pistol, he stabbed him with a knife and Cain didn't have an assault rifle when he killed Abel. Firearms may make violence easier and more impersonal but disarming the good people only gives the criminals an advantage. 

The Swiss give us an interesting example of exactly what I'm talking about. They are required to train with the military and once their training and service is complete they are required to take their military firearm home with them to keep. "Crazy, right-wing gun toters" you say, peaceful country with almost no violent crime says I. Check out this interesting article for more on the issue. Machiavelli said it in 1532, "The Swiss are well armed and enjoy great freedom."

I believe that the 2nd Amendment is one of, if not the, most important freedoms our Founding Fathers insured for us because it protects the rest. Properly understood and carried out it helps ensure our freedom from foreign invaders, it protects us from the tyranny of our own government, and it protects our families and communities from evil doers.

RV