Dear Fellow Citizens of the State of Illinois,
It is the right of free citizens to bear arms. Why did our founding fathers, give us this right, and why is this right fundamental to the freedoms which we enjoy as American citizens? The second amendment states, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
Some of the confusion comes because the first line of the second amendment which says, “a well regulated militia.” What did our founding fathers mean by a well regulated militia? The founding fathers intended that the ultimate defense of this nation from enemies both foreign and domestic would reside in the hands of the people and not just the government. They viewed the people, not the state as being the ultimate authority. Therefore, they left the power of the “sword” in the hands of the people, to check the power and authority and tyranny of governments, both foreign and domestic.
The wisdom of the right to bear arms means that the power of the state is ultimately checked. Our founding fathers distrusted power, knowing that ultimate power is tyrannical. Therefore, they wanted to check this power and the way they did it was guaranteeing the right of all citizens to retain and bear arms, unrestricted by the state. The right to bear arms then is fundamental to the freedom of free citizens from the tyranny of government, and its ever increasing desire for power.
This line in the Constitution also reminds us that all citizens are ultimately responsible for the defense of this nation, from enemies both foreign and domestic. The right of self-defense and national defense ultimately via the Constitution resides in the hands of the citizens. Even though, the state has the authority to raise armies for the common defense of the nation, it was also the obligation of every citizen to be a part of that defense. That is why for the first hundred years of this nation, this nation had small standing armies. In a time of emergency, the citizens would be called up for the defense of the nation. To remove guns from the hands of the people would ultimately leave us defenseless against radical powers who would seek to impose their will upon the nation.
This means that we cannot even trust the good intentions of politicians who believe that restrictive gun laws are means to curb crime. This is a feel-good-ism that will ultimately lead to tyranny. The tyranny of the government and the tyranny of the criminal, who will disobey the law’s that the government imposes. If we lose this fundamental right, we lose our freedom. We must not let misguided politicians who think they are well intentioned and who want to make themselves feel like they are dealing with the issue of gun violence take away our fundamental freedoms guaranteed us by the Constitution.
The state of Illinois, County of cook, nor the city of Chicago does not have the right to restrict gun ownership. The government only has the responsibility to punish the criminals who use guns in an unlawful manner. Instead of seeking to take guns away from free citizens, governing officials should seek to govern by punishing the criminals that use guns for illegal means. The problem today is that governing officials would rather take away freedoms than punish criminals. We must demand that our governing officials fulfill their duty to punish crime and to restrain evil in society and that they not seek to take away fundamental rights guaranteed us by the Constitution.
It is time that American citizens awaken to the reality that we are only one generation away from the tyranny that our forefathers feared. If we allow laxity and the ease and comforts of this life to dull our senses, our freedoms will be slowly eroded to the point where we are no longer free, but will be victims of the whims of evil rulers who seek to determine our destinies. We will be defenseless against criminals who unhindered increasingly control the streets of our nation’s cities. We will be defenseless against invading armies, who seek to impose their will upon our lives. Wake up Illinois before it is too late. We need to oppose legislation that will take away our gun rights.
Sincerely Yours,
Steven Wenner (A New Member of the Illinois Rifle Association and the National Rifle Association).
Posted by swenner64 