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<http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/2011/06/07/the-second-amendment-and-mode rn-life/> The Second Amendment and Modern Life <http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/author/scottystarnes/> Scotty Starnes | June 7, 2011 at 9:29 AM | Tags: <http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/?tag=2nd-amendment> 2nd Amendment, <http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/?tag=ammunition> ammunition, <http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/?tag=firearms> firearms, <http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/?tag=gun-control> gun control, <http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/?tag=guns> guns, <http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/?tag=private-gun-ownership> private gun ownership | Categories: <http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/?cat=35145> Political Issues | URL: <http://wp.me/pvnFC-5pf> http://wp.me/pvnFC-5pf by <http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/8122863/the_second_amendment_and_m odern_life.html> Snidely Whiplash <http://scottystarnes.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/200_63611.jpg> Snidely Whiplash For the disclaimer, I am a gun nut. Never saw many I did not want to own and doubt I ever will. And I especially like military weapons...not fully automatic ones as I couldn't buy enough ammo to shoot them, but I do love to own semi-auto versions of these weapons and am always getting more of them...it's a disease, but at least I don't gamble and drink and beat the wife and kids, so.... I want to discuss the various thoughts I and the public seem to express on guns and especially private gun ownership in this nation and the dichotomy of modern western society and the Second Amendment. Clearly, like it or not, the Second Amendment is here to stay. SCOTUS ruled that indeed the 2nd applies to private individuals owning <http://www.associatedcontent.com/theme/490/firearms.html> firearms for a myriad of reasons...hunting, self protection, national defense, sport or any other reason a law abiding citizen deems. Personally I do not hunt, but I would if I had to feed my family. I am all about self defense for sure. I doubt I'll need to defend these shores from invading Belgians....I do like sport shooting for sure and I love collecting guns and stockpiling both them and ammunition. "Better to have a gun and not need it than to need a gun and not have it." As well for me personally, I love guns becuase they do things no other invention can do. A gun is one of those things that nothing can substitute for. A slingshot might hurt ya, but I'd rather have a gun. A spear might skewer one, but I'd rather have a 12 gauge. And while a <http://www.associatedcontent.com/topic/6661/louisville.html> Louisville Slugger might ward off an intruder, I know any one of my .45's will not only ward them off but will remove from them the ability to ever hurt me or my family or anyone else for that matter if employed as intended. It's just that damned simple! As for society and the Second Amendment, I admit there presents a clear dichotomy. As society becomes more "civil" as it is alleged, does that state of elevated civility remove from us any right or need? Need? Perhaps, but the right is unassailable. Where do the collective rights of society supersede the individual guarantees of the Constitution? My answer is they do not ever supersede my individual Constitutional freedoms and by "do not ever" I mean never on this rock as long as I am alive. It's a slippery slope to wander down the path of altering and tweaking this or that right for some collective benefit. The world has been there before and it always turns out the same. No matter how many noble intentions, nobility is usually the first victim of the dogooder. The second victim is always those of us whose rights are eroded for some ephemeral collective good. Of late we've heard much about guns, murders and madmen. There will always be murder. Cain killed Abel and it wasn't with a Smith & Wesson. Guns do not make people kill each other...they just make it less personal. 500 years ago if one man wanted to kill another he had to beat him, stab or slice him or poison him. It happened all the time. Is one's death less tragic if they are beaten to death as opposed to shot from 20 feet away? Are they less dead? The manner of killing is really of little import until we get to torture and other such evils, but then those who torture usually don't do it with a gun...that's too impersonal for such an evil mind. If we lived in an absolutely perfect world I concede guns might be a bygone tool of no use, but we do not live in that world. Instead we live in the real world...one where one man's evil mind can do harm to so many innocents. Where the ambition of men and their followers leads to massive mayhem. Where greed for riches or power compels some to all manner of unspeakable acts. I am one man who learned well the lessons of history. Those lessons are that men are evil and greedy and to expect others to "have my back" to see my freedom and safety are forever lasting is to be a fool in the most ardent sense of absurdity. Sure there are heroes <http://www.associatedcontent.com/topic/5783/heroes.html> and those for whom principle is enough, but those men are rare. It is foolish and down right negligent of me to expect someone else will be there to protect me from the evil in the minds of some men. It Is Not A Crime To Be Prepared Or To Believe Government Must Be Held In Check The above words evoke all kinds of feelings in people. There are those that agree and those that don't. Those that do will see my point entirely and without question. It is clear and factual that despotic governments and the people that desire power by that method know to first disarm the population, for a disarmed populace presents few impediments to the wishes of those who seek power at all costs. Our Founder's wanted us to always possess firearms to prevent government from growing too powerful thus becoming despotic. Men were to be armed to defend themselves from their own government, for government isn't merely the conglomeration of laws and the men who make and administer them, but instead government is an unwieldy entity that takes on a life of its own. Look around you and it's obvious government becomes its own beating heart with its own will. Like any "living" entity, it can act independently and that acting is not always in the best interests of some. So while I may never have to defend the beaches from an invader, I may have to defend the Constitution from domestic threat, and in fact that threat is so real when one is sworn in as an officer of the nation, they swear to defend the Constitution from all enemies "foreign and domestic." That phrase is there for a reason no matter how much some will ridicule its tenets and purpose. Those who would ridicule such a provision are the ones who need to be watched real, real closely. Owning Firearms Is My Right and I Will Exercise It! My belief in firearms and their private ownership transcends modernity and any pretense to highly civil western society. Man is still the feeble and flawed creature we've always been and no matter how advanced and sophisticated we are supposed to be, evil will not disappear, thus men will seek to do harm to others for their own end. I will not be a victim, and while I do not live in fear or victimhood, I am determined I will not be a target of opportunity. Owning a firearm or many firearms is an indication of one thing and nothing more...one man exercising his rights as per the law of the land. Anyone who finds my lawful exercise of a fundamental and Founding right problematic are themselves the dangerous ones. Yes, private gun ownership is a complicated issue, but it is not an issue that can be dealt with on whim or passionate desire, but is a right guaranteed every bit as much as free speech, expression and any other protection from government's ever growing desire to rule men instead of serve men. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [email protected]. -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [email protected] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [email protected] Unsubscribe: [email protected] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 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