Let me take you back to a time not so long ago: Once upon a time there lived an unhappy group of people in a British Colony. These people were tired of the oppressive British Empire and wanted to form their own government where they could be free. So, like any good revolutionary group would, they gathered their guns and went to war against the mightiest army in the world. They won, and to ensure the very freedoms they had fought for, they drafted a constitution and a Bill of Rights. Our textbook, American Government, Ninth Edition, discussed at length in Ch 11 the Bill of Rights and civil liberties such as the Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Speech, Press, Assembly, and Petition, It even discussed the Rights of the Criminally Accused, however, it completely omitted the Second Amendment from its discussion. Perhaps the Author did not know that without the Right to Bear arms there would likely be no Bill of Rights, Perhaps the author does not understand that the Second Amen!

dment is the only Amendment that enforces our method of government. Maybe, the author like so many shortsighted Americans today, does not believe in the Second Amendment. The most disturbing possi

A quote, typical of the day follows:

ssage did not read "to limit the power of government over the state". I make this distinction because many anti-freedom groups believe the Second Amendment is not an individual right. For instance, the Pro Gun-Control group Handgun Control Inc. believes the Second Amendment was a guarantee only to the states. Further, they claim, "The rights guaranteed by the Constitution have never been absolute". This really bothers me. It is clear that the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights are the very foundation on which our democratic government bases its legitimacy; it is necessary to add amendments sometimes to clarify and add freedom and liberty, but never to take away freedom or liberty. HCI cites the fact that despite the First Amendments guarantee of free speech, one cannot yell fire in a crowded movie theater (http://www.handguncontrol.org/facts/ib/second.asp). Do they wish us to believe that The Bill of Rights are individual rights guaranteed by the constitution, !

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

-- Edmund Burke (1784). (http://quotations.about.com/arts/quotations/library/weekly/aa000629a.htm)

(http://quotations.about.com/arts/quotations/library/weekly/aa000629a.htm)

"It is a matter of common knowledge that in this state and in several others, the more especially in the Southern states where the negro population is so large, that this cowardly practice of `toting' guns has always been one of the most fruitful sources of crime. . . . Let a negro board a railroad train with a quart of mean whiskey and a pistol in his grip and the chances are that there will be a murder, or at least a row, before he alights". (Comment, Carrying C

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Approximate Word count = 1259
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)