The
"March For Our Lives" takes place today. I am glad to see the next generation of
voters standing up for themselves and their own safety, and for putting the politicians
and special interests on notice that they won't be the impotent, brainwashed sheep that today's voters seem to be. Let's hope that they mature into better
thinking, less gullible, and better voters than what we have now.
The misuse
of guns and the failure of our politicians to provide for the safety of our
children and other citizens with reasonable gun access measures are at the
heart of the march.
I have to
say that I fully support the second amendment and its purpose, but I also fully
support reasonable measures to keep guns away from those who would wrongly use
them.
The purpose
of the second amendment is to maintain a well armed populace to protect the
people and the nation against tyrants, both domestic and foreign. Under the second amendment people have an
irrevocable right, and maybe even a duty, to own and maintain arms. The revolution that founded our nation, and the
current tilt of our nation's President and Congress toward an increasingly
authoritarian and Fascist government, makes that need clear.
Owning and
maintaining firearms for the purpose of hunting is not addressed by the second
amendment. It neither supports or
prohibits hunting.
Those
things having been said, one must understand that with every right granted to
us by the constitution, there comes with it a corresponding responsibility to
use that right in a safe and constructive manner that contributes to the general
welfare of the people, rather than detracting from it. Common sense tells me that the founding
fathers did not intend that the second amendment be used to boost gun sales to
make arms dealers richer, or to make guns more easily and readily available to
criminals, violent psychopaths, the mentally ill, bullied and abused children,
or anxiety riddled, paranoid concealed gun toters. I think I can say with full confidence that
they definitely didn't intend for the second amendment to be used to enable massacres
in our schools, churches, and crowds. There
has to be, and I believe there is, room between the second amendment and common
sense gun restrictions to provide reasonable safety for all citizens.
There will
never be perfect and complete safety for all, no matter what we do, but there
is plenty more that we can do to improve and work toward that goal. Getting our politicians to actually do something
for their constituents instead of the gun lobbies, and getting people to listen
to their common sense and think of themselves and their loved one's safety
instead of succumbing to the brain washing propaganda they hear and see on
social media would be a start. Politicians
won't do anything unless the people demand that they do so, and the people
won't force them to do something until they have to. Today's march is a welcome step toward making
that happen. Good luck marchers!
