Gun Control and the Second Amendment

By Shane Van Cleve

"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."

Gun control... although it hasn't been the most recent issue being dealt with, it has come up several times this year. Our country was founded on principles in which the founders believed in. They studied the history of other countries and what worked and what didn't. They especially studied the country of Switzerland, which we will talk about in a minute. Gun control is clearly stated in the Constitution of the United States as wrong.

But as soon as a shooting occurs what happens? Everyone wants gun control! People think that if we just had gun control, all our problems would go out the door. This isn't the case. In fact our problems may get worse. The evidence shows that places that have gun control much more crime than places without gun control.

Let's take a look at Switzerland. Every citizen of Switzerland is required to own a readied gun. They are required to be ready at any time to be able to fight for their country. Because of this, the crime rate in Switzerland is drastically lower than many of the surrounding countries. On top of that you may notice that Switzerland has not been in any war for over a century. It avoided both World War 1 and World War 2. At one point during World War 2, Hitler had completely surrounded Switzerland but not once did he try to invade. He knew that they were not easy targets. Why? Because the whole population was armed and ready.

The founders studied Switzerland. In their writings you will find that they talk about Switzerland quite often. I believe the Second Amendment was highly influenced by the founder's study of the Swiss.

Yes, someone can kill a lot of people with a gun. But what about a car? How many people can you kill with a car? Since cars kill millions of people every year should we outlaw them?

If we outlaw guns, then the murderer is still going to get around it. Maybe he will drive his car through the market place, or maybe make a homemade bomb. Perhaps he will get a gun illegally. Then we "law-abiders" are going to be helpless. You see, laws don't necessarily make things better. In fact they can make things drastically worse.

Here are some quotes from the founding father's about gun control:

"Are we at last brought to such a humiliating and debasing degradation, that we cannot be trusted with arms for our own defence? Where is the difference between having our arms in our own possession and under our own direction, and having them under the management of Congress? If our defence be the real object of having those arms, in whose hands can they be trusted with more propriety, or equal safety to us, as in our own hands?" ~Patrick Henry

"Americans have the right and advantage of being armed - unlike the citizens of other countries whose governments are afraid to trust the people with arms." ~James Madison

"The best we can hope for concerning the people at large is that they be properly armed."

~Alexander Hamilton

"That the said Constitution shall never be construed to authorize Congress to infringe the just liberty of the press or the rights of conscience; or to prevent the people of the United states who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms... " ~ Samuel Adams

Our founding fathers believe that the country should be armed especially in case of invasion. Also they thought guns were more secure in the hands of the people than in the hands of the government. Let's look at a quote from Hitler:

"The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to permit the conquered Eastern peoples to have arms. History teaches that all conquerors who have allowed their subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by doing so." ~ Adolph Hitler

See, even Hitler knew what gun control could do. It transfers the power from the people to the government. Then the government has the advantage. They have the power. They could do anything they wanted with us.

Let us not make the mistake of enforcing gun control. Let us fight for our rights. And Let Freedom Ring!

Nations of Eternal War...

By Shane Van Cleve

Most of you have probably heard about the start of war between Russia and Georgia. What should the United States do about it? Stay out. That's what. We should not be involved in other people's business. Our military was not made to fight for other countries. Our military was made to defend the United States of America. The founding fathers warned us about getting involved in other people's wars:

"I have ever deemed it fundamental for the United States never to take active part in the quarrels of Europe. Their political interests are entirely distinct from ours. Their mutual jealousies, their balance of power, their complicated alliances, their forms and principles of government, are all foreign to us. They are nations of eternal war. All their energies are expended in the destruction of the labor, property and lives of their people." ~Thomas Jefferson

"Peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations--entangling alliances with none, I deem [one of] the essential principles of our government, and consequently [one of] those which ought to shape its administration." ~Thomas Jefferson

"The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connection as possible. So far as we have already formed engagements, let them be fulfilled with perfect good faith. Here let us stop. Europe has a set of primary interests which to us have none; or a very remote relation. Hence she must be engaged in frequent controversies, the causes of which are essentially foreign to our concerns. Hence, therefore, it must be unwise in us to implicate ourselves by artificial ties in the ordinary vicissitudes of her politics, or the ordinary combinations and collisions of her friendships or enmities. " ~George Washington

"...a passionate attachment of one nation for another produces a variety of evils. Sympathy for the favorite nation, facilitating the illusion of an imaginary common interest in cases where no real common interest exists, and infusing into one the enmities of the other, betrays the former into a participation in the quarrels and wars of the latter without adequate inducement or justification. It leads also to concessions to the favorite nation of privileges denied to others which is apt doubly to injure the nation making the concessions; by unnecessarily parting with what ought to have been retained, and by exciting jealousy, ill-will, and a disposition to retaliate, in the parties from whom equal privileges are withheld.....Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence (I conjure you to believe me, fellow-citizens) the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake..." ~George Washington

The founding fathers warned us to not get involved in the wars and problems of Europe. But unfortunately, our leaders have forgotten their advice. We now have troops in over 130 countries around the world including Georgia.

You may have noticed that the founding fathers also said to have "alliances with none". Why did they say that? Just look at the World Wars. Take World War 1 for example. The murder of 1 man, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, let to a World War or the killings of 20 million people. Now I could justify finding and punishing the one who murdered him but a World War? How did that happen? It was because of alliances. Alliances say if you go to war, then I will go with you. Think of how many lives would have been saved if the war was only between Austria and Serbia. But because of the alliances, 20 million lives were lost.

Why then should we get involved in the conflict between Georgia and Russia? Let them settle the matter and let us concentrate on defending the United States. If we have all our troops in 130 countries around the world, who's going to defend us if an attack hits our homeland?

Let us stay out of the conflicts of Europe for they are "nations of eternal war".