Second Amendment, one of Constitution's checks and balances

by James Simpson
Daily Journal
Thursday, November 20, 2003

Very soon, a vote will come up in Congress to determine whether or not the Clinton weapons ban is to be extended or rightfully left to expire.

Unfortunately, cowardly individuals have indoctrinated many Americans into believing that it is imperative to prevent John Q. Citizen from owning the type of weapons that are used by the police or military.

Their conclusion is that citizens should have fewer rights than the government.

This is not only illogical - governments do not have rights - but very dangerous as well. Millions upon millions have been killed by governments that have disarmed their citizens.

In fact, far more death and destruction has been caused by power-hungry despots and tyrannical government officials than the miniscule number of people who unfortunately lose their lives due to random violence every year in the United States.

Governments are made up of people, and people are not angels. I am quite sure that the millions who were killed by their own governments thought, at some point in their lives, that their government would never harm them.

But power does corrupt. It is an unavoidable fact of life.

And the only thing that prevents men and women who get into positions of power from abusing that power is a strong set of checks and balances.

Our founders knew that this could only be achieved by having an armed citizenry. They possessed not only practical life experience with this fact, but also the knowledge of historical patterns - which clearly demonstrate this to be the natural evolution of government.

I find it amazing that liberals, who are the greatest opponents of the Second Amendment, don't comprehend that the continued erosion of the right and ability of citizens to defend ourselves against tyranny will result in subsequent loss of civil rights - something for which they adamantly pledge support.

If liberals, who tend to be conservationists and environmentalists, only understood how their past support of government power through both regulation and taxation has actually caused more damage to the environment than would ever have happened at the hands of free-market enterprise, well, let's just say they would be furious at best.

I have yet to hear a reasonable explanation as to why the founders of our nation would write nine amendments in the Bill of Rights specifically to limit the government's power - and just one to limit the rights of individuals.

No one can adequately explain this, because that is not what the Second Amendment affirms.

In fact, the checks and balances built into the system by having three separate branches of government are supposed to prevent one branch of our government from being able to reduce our rights and liberties.

So I can't help but wonder why the courts aren't helping to defend our rights. Regrettably, they are hiding behind cloaks of power and ignorance to promote their own agenda of re-writing legislation through misinterpretation of the Constitution.

The Second Amendment was designed to prevent any government, foreign or domestic, from becoming tyrannical and threatening the lives and freedoms of Americans.

Every time a politician who has sworn an oath to defend the Constitution votes in favor of a single piece of legislation that infringes on our right to bear arms, he or she has broken that oath of office.

I hope that our Congressional representatives, who frequently assert that they support the Constitution, seriously consider the fact that the Clinton weapons ban is unconstitutional at best.

We need the Second Amendment to remain strong so that all the other amendments will continue to be enforced - by The People.

James Simpson, who is president of the Virginia Committee of Correspondence, Inc., lives in Lake Ridge.