“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.”

2nd Amendment to the United States Constitution

Well there it is.  One sentence.  Plain language.  Pretty simple.  But what does it MEAN?  The statue of the “Minuteman” shown at left shows him having taken off his coat and hung it on his plow. In his right hand is his rifle, which he has taken up to defend his family, property and rights.

To those on the left of the gun rights debate, it clearly means that the GOVERNMENT has a right to establish “Militias” for mutual defense of the country and it’s citizens.  Those militia members would then be issued weapons (by the government) for that purpose.

Those on the right side of the issue believe that the Founding Fathers were as concerned about the citizenry being able to defend themselves from an overreaching, despotic government as they were about repelling foreign invaders.  “Militias” of course, like those who fired “The Shot Hear Round The World” on the Lexington Commons were not police, national guardsmen or military reservists.  They were common citizens, the “butchers, bakers and candlestick makers” which, with all other occupations, comprise a normal society.  They supplied and carried their own weapons and ammunition on that fateful day, with the resolve to protect their homes and families from the excesses perpetrated upon them by the VERY despotic government of King George III.

In many parts of this nation, states and localities have chosen to deny their citizens the right guaranteed by the second amendment to keep and bear arms. If that is the will of the citizens of those localities, so be it.   But the attempt to enforce that concept on all Americans, regardless of their residence, is despotism of the first degree.

The reason people died at Columbine, Sandy Hook, Ft. Hood, San Bernardino, Orlando, Parkland and many other places, is that artificial “Gun Free Zones” had been created as potential killing zones, and that the authorities had been unable to react to the actions of the CRIMINALS, TERRORISTS or CRAZIES in a timely fashion.  As has been demonstrated many times over, the authorities frequently fail to connect the dots, by addressing threats or abnormal behaviors reported to them by concerned citizens.  Even that may not be their fault.  Unbelievable rulings by some judges have tied their hands in many cases, protecting the rights of thugs and criminals at the expense of the victims.

This has been a well armed country for many years.  The era of “Mass Shootings” is a relatively recent phenomena.  Perhaps we should look to what segment of our society is perpetrating most of the violent crimes, and focus on that group.  Disarm them, not law abiding citizens who only want to protect themselves, their families and their neighbors from the depredations committed against them, and depend on the guarantees granted to us in our Constitution to do so.