The right to bear arms

January 23rd, 2023 by Ken

I’ve always believed that it’s every American’s right to own a gun.  I believed it when I was young and impressionable and I believe it now.  I currently own a gun and have a concealed weapons permit to carry it.  But my reasons for owning a gun now are far different than when I was young.

I’ve never trusted government.  When I was a young man I always thought that we might need to take control of our own destiny to protect ourselves from our government.  (Of course that was silly and stupid, but that’s the way I felt.)

When I read that the Declaration of Independence says its our responsibility to overthrow a government when it no longer meets our needs, I wanted to have that option.  And, while I was not in favor of the armed overthrow of the government – – I never thought it was out of the realm of possibility.

All my life, I never owned a gun.  I’d spent enough time in the military to know that I really didn’t want a gun around the house.  But, I wanted the right to have one.

And, then, a decade ago, came an effort by some sections of our country to ban the legal possession of firearms – – something that continues to this day.   That got me thinking about the “right” to own a gun.  I didn’t make the move to do so until recently.  When I began to age and found my physical prowess declining I thought a gun would help me feel more secure.

Because I have 14 grandkids, I feel obligated to keep my little pistol locked up and out of sight, so it really wouldn’t be much use to me if I really needed it.  It’s just the idea that it is there.

I do own a gun.  I still think it’s every American’s right to own a gun.  And, I think the decision to do so rests  with the individual and not with the government.

Recent mass killings around this country have me wondering if maybe if one person had a gun, in that school, in that movie theater or in that supermarket, if maybe the body count would have been less.

 

Posted in Government, History, Local Politics, The Real News


(comments are closed).