Second Amendment
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.
In 1776, America's Founders came together in Philadelphia to draw up a "Declaration of Independence," ending political ties to Great Britain. Written by Thomas Jefferson, it is the fundamental statement of people's rights and what government is and from what source it derives its powers:
WE hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness--That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed.
The Founders were declaring that we are all equal, and that we are defined by rights that we are born with, not given to us by government. Among those rights is the right to pursue happiness--to live our lives as we think best, as long as we respect the right of all other individuals to do the same. The Founders also declared that governments are created by people to secure their rights. Whatever powers government has are not "just" unless they come from us, the people.
Friday, October 30, 2020
With everyone from newspapers and commentators to campaign surrogates and the candidates themselves vying for our attention, it’s ...
Friday, May 31, 2019
The Supreme Court has the chance to reinforce its 11-year-old message to the lower courts: the Second Amendment ...
Friday, May 17, 2019
Retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens does not believe a law-abiding citizen has a right to possess ...
Friday, February 15, 2019
This week, the City Council Members of Los Angeles showed their extreme distain of the Second Amendment, the ...
Tuesday, February 5, 2019
A devout anti-gun Commissioner of Agriculture (Nikki Fried) and an even worse anti-gun Deputy Commissioner of Agriculture (Mary ...
Tuesday, December 4, 2018
Should authorities be able to deny handgun licenses for hateful tweets?A New York lawmaker is raising the question ...
Tuesday, December 4, 2018
A gun control proposal in the New York State Legislature is getting some push-back from privacy groups.
Thursday, November 29, 2018
Do the math and you can understand why Andrew Cuomo and most members of the State Legislate easily ...
Wednesday, November 7, 2018
President Donald Trump would have loved to see Republicans keep their grip on the House of Representatives in ...
Monday, November 5, 2018
Cities and towns with restrictions on more than half of licenses include Springfield, Lowell, New Bedford, Newton and ...