Amendment II: To Keep America’s Freedom

On July 4, 1776, the thirteen American colonies declared their Independence from the tyrannical clutches of the mighty, powerful Great Britain.  This was the result of years of extreme taxation, forcing colonists to house and feed British troops, not allowing westward expansion of the colonists, no representation of colonists in the British Parliament, closing of the port of Boston, demanding compensation for the dumping of tea owned by the East India Company, taking control over the Massachusetts government and appointing officials.  With this Declaration of Independence, came a Revolutionary War that many colonists took up arms to defend their families, their new country, and most of all their Freedom. With a hard fought victory from the tyranny of Great Britain our Forefathers penned the U.S. Constitution and the Ten Amendments (Bill of Rights) to keep government in check and the people (citizens) in control.  Out of the Ten Amendments there is one that has sparked much controversy since the early 1800’s:

Amendment II

“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.”

–Ten Amendments, U.S. Constitution ratified December 15, 1791.

There has been much debate whether or not that this meant that the private citizen could own a fire arm for self defense as well as hunting or if it should be strictly for hunting or for an armed militia like the National Guards.  As history points out clearly, it cannot be for just the National Guards, because it was not organized until 1903, much less just for the Militia because the militia back in the later 1700’s were made up of all able bodied men.   On top of this, most colonists owned an arm in order to protect their families from gangs, Indians, animals, and to feed their families-it was a necessary tool for survival then as well as now.

Why is it a necessary tool now?  As this young nation has grown in power and strength, many countries have been invaded which has resulted in abuse, oppression, torture, and extermination of millions of people.  So many of these countries ended up in tough times and were looking for somebody to save them-this resulted in dictatorships and communism/Marxism.  In turn men like Stalin of Russia came into power wiping out anybody who disagreed with him or shipping them to the cold, desolate Siberia, Hitler of Austria/Germany rose to the heights of being the Messiah of the German people, which resulted in millions of Jews, Gypsies, “enemies” of the 3^rd Reich, and countless others being  tortured and exterminated, Ho Chi Minh the Pres. Of N. Vietnam wanted to unite both Vietnams under the communist flag and ended up killing many of his people, Pol Pot the Khmer Rouge leader in Cambodia from 1975-79 also wanted communism to rule in his country, but ended up torturing and exterminating at least 2 million of his own people, Hugo Chavez the Pres. Of Venezuela has shut down banks, newspapers, TV stations, and has “taken care” of anybody who dares to speak out against him or his policies, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad  Pres. Of the Islamic Republic of Iran has shut down the internet and phone service in response to demonstrations, plus make sure the government run media only says what he wants them to say-if one goes against him you are exterminated.  This also needs to include what happens during a natural disaster like Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which struck New Orleans and the earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12, 2010-after these devastating disasters, violence erupted.  Law abiding New Orleans residents had their arms taken away by the police due to the violence that erupted and they were not the ones causing the violence-they were protecting their families, businesses, and themselves from bodily harm.  In Haiti after the earthquake many were hungry, hurt, and without many necessary basics and gangs started to go through the streets with machetes taking food/water  away from children, seniors, and their neighbors-not one person could stop them because they had nothing to defend themselves or their families with.

In all the above examples the people had no right to possess (or it was taken away) an arm to defend themselves, their families, their freedom, or their businesses, which resulted in needless torture, extermination, and/or suffering of people.   Our Founding Fathers did not want future generations to get taken over by tyranny like they had already experienced under British rule and so the U.S. Constitution was penned with Amendment II included, to secure life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for years to come.

In conclusion, Amendment II is a “tool” for the citizens of this beautiful country to defend the Freedoms stated in the U.S. Constitution, our home, families, businesses, and providing food.  It has been shown time and again in the last one hundred years that it can take only one man with a plan to destroy a peoples’ freedom and bring torture, destruction, and extermination in a short time; our Founding Fathers wanted to make sure many generations would have the “tools” to defend Freedom.

References

Cottrol., J., Robert.  Second amendment to the united states constitution. (n.d).

Retrieved February 8, 2010, from

http://www.answers.com/topic/amendment-ii-to-the-u-s-constitution

Hitler, Pol Pot, Stalin, Vietnam.  (n.d.).

Retrieved February 17, 2010, from http://www.infoplease.com

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.  (n.d.)

Retrieved February 18, 2010, from

http://www.answers.com/topic/Mahmoud-Ahmadinjad

Revolutionary war.  (n.d.)

Retrieved February 17, 2010, from http://www.historycentral.com

The constitution, bill of rights, and firearms ownership in America.  (n.d.).

Retrieved February 11, 2010, from http://www.nraila.org/Issues/Articles/Read.aspx?id

Amendments to the Constitution of the United States (Bill of Rights). Ratified effective December 5, 1791.

About the author

Becki Haight wrote 35 articles on this blog.

Educational background in business and management. Conservative, who believes the U.S. Constitution is not a “living document”, but firm in its resolve.Born into a middle class family and raised to believe in God, defending your country, helping your neighbor, working hard, and nobody owes you anything. Diagnosed with systemic scleroderma in 2008 and has proceeded to live and continually fight back! Loves to write about America and its great people.

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