We have God-given right to keep, bear arms

The Second Amendment is included in the Bill of Rights because those who fought the Revolutionary War against British tyranny were those who wrote the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. They understood that the God-given right to keep and bear arms is the last defense against tyranny.

Consider what our founders said about the right to bear arms:

“I ask, Sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people. To disarm them is the best and most effectual way to enslave them.” - George Mason

“And that the said Constitution be never 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.

“Those who hammer their guns into plowshares will plow for those who do not. The constitutions of most of our States assert that all power is inherent in the people; that it is their right and duty to be at all times armed.” - Thomas Jefferson.

Another reason why gun confiscation is the “line in the sand” for Americans is because gun confiscation is normally followed by massive democide (death by government). The monsters of the 20th century all took the guns before they began the roundups and purges, the gulags and death camps, and the firing up of the crematoriums. It would be the height of naivete to ignorantly assume that it cannot - and will not - happen here.

Wendell E. Carr

Ottumwa