Second Amendment
The right to protect ourselves, like other fundamental rights, is rooted in the Constitution and essential to our country's commitment to individual liberty. Human beings are entitled to defend themselves and others against mortal threats. The issue is not guns. The problem is that good people live among bad people. And sometimes, bad people seek to cause harm. A gun is a tool used to check the bad behavior of someone intent on causing harm by enforcing accountability and democratizing power. Leveling the playing field is important because most criminals do not choose their intended victims randomly. They prefer soft targets...they are predators seeking an advantage. The firearm doesn't always the prevent the bad, but it does it often limit the amount of harm inflicted.
Truly free people should not have to rely on others arriving in time to defend them. As a prosecutor, I know firsthand that law enforcement often cannot respond in time to prevent a tragedy. And, unfortunately, punishment after tragedy cannot undo the tragedy.
Rights are defined in the context of absolutes, otherwise they would not be a right. The right to "keep and bear arms" is one of those absolute rights. And, like all rights it will always be abused by some. Abusers of the "right to bear arms" will, by definition, misuse weapons. And the misuse of weapons, by definition, will inevitably cause our society harm. The commitment to upholding fundamental rights sometimes causes great harm. The pain associated with the harm doesn't diminish the value of the right, nor the government's obligation to respect it. In other words, rights are expensive because they are worth having.
Much blood has spilled to preserve our Constitutional freedoms. Freedoms essential to our way of life. The right to bear arms exists and will not easily be eliminated because the gun, as a tool, is inseparable from our country's concept of individual freedom.
A real discussion about guns must involve truth and candor. And before fundamental rights are abrogated or infringed, the more difficult question of why apparently more people are coming unhinged and committing horrible crimes should be examined.
Truly free people should not have to rely on others arriving in time to defend them. As a prosecutor, I know firsthand that law enforcement often cannot respond in time to prevent a tragedy. And, unfortunately, punishment after tragedy cannot undo the tragedy.
Rights are defined in the context of absolutes, otherwise they would not be a right. The right to "keep and bear arms" is one of those absolute rights. And, like all rights it will always be abused by some. Abusers of the "right to bear arms" will, by definition, misuse weapons. And the misuse of weapons, by definition, will inevitably cause our society harm. The commitment to upholding fundamental rights sometimes causes great harm. The pain associated with the harm doesn't diminish the value of the right, nor the government's obligation to respect it. In other words, rights are expensive because they are worth having.
Much blood has spilled to preserve our Constitutional freedoms. Freedoms essential to our way of life. The right to bear arms exists and will not easily be eliminated because the gun, as a tool, is inseparable from our country's concept of individual freedom.
A real discussion about guns must involve truth and candor. And before fundamental rights are abrogated or infringed, the more difficult question of why apparently more people are coming unhinged and committing horrible crimes should be examined.
