Jefferson Review

"Your Liberty is Our Interest"

Home /  Archives / Links / Quotes / Book Reviews / Advertise /Contact us / Subscribe / Calendar

Gray on Gun Rights

  Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are ruined.  Patrick Henry                                                                                         

Anne M. Northup

2459 Rayburn House Office Building

Washington, DC 20515

Anne,

I take exception to your explanations of H.R. 1243.

You said, “…I do not think that Congress should address the issue of expanding concealed firearms authority to private citizens because this is essentially the prerogative of the state legislatures.”  WRONG!  This is not only NOT the prerogative of the state legislatures, it is not the prerogative of the federal government either.  The second amendment clearly prohibits infringement of “the right of the people to keep and bear arms.”  This Constitutional right is not in the hands of government at all.  ANY regulation of the peoples’ right to keep and bear arms is unconstitutional.

You said, “One of the reasons that I oppose extensive national gun control legislation is because I believe this is a diverse country with diverse views on gun control.”  Thank you for your stated opposition but diversity should not be a consideration.  Obviously what Americans think of government infringement on their lives means little in Washington.  What should be your only consideration is that the second amendment prohibits infringement of “the right of the people to keep and bear arms.”

You said, “I would also oppose H.R. 1243¹ because it does not require a minimum standard for training and recertification in every state.”  The second amendment does not stipulate to training and certification.  It says, “Shall not be infringed.”

You said this bill “…is unfair to the actual citizens and taxpayers of a particular state who comply with their state laws.”  How is this unfair?  Most Americans would welcome the full use of their second amendment.  Not infringing upon our gun rights is not unfair to citizens and taxpayers.  Where do you get these ideas? 

You go on to say that it is okay for the federal government to authorize local law enforcement officers “…the ability to protect their communities and their families…”  What about “civilian” families?  You obviously believe that the families of police officers are more precious than mine.  It is a rare occasion when a police officer actually stops a violent crime – they aren’t babysitters or personal body guards.  For the most part, police officers are sent to investigate violent crimes after they’ve happened.  Americans do not want to be victims, and this is what you are leaving us.  I realize that keeping Americans dependent upon government is a high priority with government but even if Americans wanted the government to do everything for us, Uncle Sam has a very poor track record and one that I do not wish to rely upon and do not trust.

You seem to like the idea of keeping the federal government from interfering with states’ rights, yet we see federal legislation all the time which restricts states’ rights.  Case in point and specific to the second amendment is the Lautenberg Gun Ban which removes forever the right of citizens to possess weapons if they were convicted or plead guilty to misdemeanor family violence.  This is one of the most hated and unfair laws, in relation to the second amendment, in this country.  Spanking a child or yelling at a spouse may result in one’s right to bear arms being removed for life.

The bottom line is that no government, local, state, or federal has the right or jurisdiction to infringe upon my second amendment right.  ANY legislation that does so is unconstitutional.  I live by the constitution, shouldn’t you?  You did swear to uphold it in its entirety.   

Terry Gray

¹HR 1243 concerns the application of concealed carry permits to all states.  When a citizen of Kentucky has a concealed carry permit he would be allowed to carry in all states.  This bill was introduced by Congressman John Hostettler on March 10, 2005.

Weather (Louisville) / Mapquest /  White Pages / Business Search / CNN / Dictionary / E-card / MSN