Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

"A well regulated militia is necessary to the security of a free state.  Therefore, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

In my opinion, every citizen of the United States makes up the militia and, as such, is the country's last line of defense.  I am reminded of Mel Gibson in the movie "The Patriot."  Before going to rescue his elder son who had been carried off by the British for execution, he first went to his own house and got his own weapons to do the job. In that war, ordinary citizens were the militia.

"When seconds count, the police are only minutes away."  I have a lot of respect for what police officers can do, but I'm also acutely aware of what they cannot do.  In many situations, no crime has been committed until you are robbed, raped or murdered.  The chances of the police being on hand to stop such acts are extremely remote, since most police officers are not psychic.

I make it my responsibility to protect my family and I have the few brain cells more than a doorknob it takes to realize that the police are not likely to be there in a critical life or death situation. The police would always be my first resort if the police can respond in time, and taking a life would always be my last resort. With all rights comes responsibilities.

Liberals always cite guns as the cause of murders. While it is clearly obvious that there are more gun murders in liberal cities where there are extreme laws against ownership and use of firearms, liberals persist in trying to score political points by attacking gun ownership.

Liberals continuously cite "the huge gun show loophole" which largely is non-existent. Most vendors at gun shows are major gun dealers. Major gun dealers at gun shows are licensed and are required to initiate a background check for each sale. Only persons selling personal individual firearms do not perform background checks and it is not cost effective for most people selling a few private firearms to pay for a booth at a gun show.

American citizens with their own weapons are the country's last line of defense. If the government falls and the military is defeated, there are way more private citizens with guns than the entire U.S. military. Citizens are also first-line defense. If there is a terrorist attack or a mass shooter, the attackers will likely only be stopped by someone with a weapon.

If I did not have a weapon and my family was murdered because I had no defense, I would consider myself grossly irresponsible. It is a dangerous world and you can't stop a terrorist by offering them a latte and a lesson on tolerance.

There are way too many people who think that all guns will disappear if they are made illegal. Remember when drugs were made illegal? Many American citizens will refuse to surrender their firearms, which could lead to an all-out civil war.

Making guns illegal will immediately make millions of Americans felons, whose only crime is refusing to give up their means to protect their family. Liberals screech about too many prison incarcerations, but draconian gun laws will do just that, resulting in astronomical law enforcement and incarceration costs.

Making guns illegal will drive guns underground, increase black market activities and result in budget-busting law enforcement and imprisonment costs. If guns are driven underground, guess what: no taxes on gun and ammunition sales and absolutely NO BACKGROUND CHECKS!

Many fools believe that the government with the help of the U.S. military can control any uprisings against gun confiscation. They should be reminded of the following:

• Most members of the U.S. Military are extremely patriotic and all of them swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America, which includes the 2nd amendment;
• most members of the U.S. Military are conservatives who like guns; and
• a majority of members of a military force often have problems firing on their own people. This would especially be true in this country.

Many naively ask, what's wrong with registering guns? Gun registrations give the federal government a massive database telling the government who owns guns and what and how many guns they own. Although the federal government swears that such a database would never be used to confiscate guns, the federal government has proven itself to be largely untrustworthy (numerous lies like: "If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan," etc.), and such registrations have led to gun confiscations in other countries.

The federal government has already proven that it is inept at keeping use safe. Barack Obama has diminished respect for police forces and the U.S. military has been gutted. Police departments rarely can respond in time to prevent anything. Giving up our means personal protection is utter stupidity.

Every citizen should be a soldier. This was the case with the Greeks and Romans, and must be that of every free state.

...Thomas Jefferson