SECOND AMENDMENT “RECOGNIZES RIGHTS WE ALREADY POSSESS”
Dear Editor,
This week I had the pleasure of speaking to the special S.C. Senate judiciary subcommittee on gun violence.
My remarks, as best I can remember them, are below.
I’ve got three quick points, but I hope you’ll ponder them. First, the Second Amendment doesn’t give anyone the right to bear arms. Not a single person. Just like the First Amendment doesn’t give anyone freedom to worship. It just recognizes rights we already possess.
Second, you’ll sometimes heard it argued that the Second Amendment only pertains to the militia. I believe this is wrong, but here’s something you may, or may not, be aware of. South Carolina law defines who constitutes the militia. It’s all able bodied males aged 17 and older who are citizens of the state, and citizens of the United States, or who are applying to be citizens of the United States. If you use that definition, the age for carrying arms drops from 21 to 17.
Third, Senator Larry Martin voted to restrict gun rights. And in June, after 37 years in Columbia, he was sent home – in large part because of his votes on this issue. I don’t have much money, and by myself, I don’t have much influence. But, like many in this chamber tonight, I will pour what I do have into defeating those who try to restrict our Second Amendment rights. I’ll also proudly stand beside those who protect them.
Sincerely,
Justin Alexander
Greenville, S.C.
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SIC SEZ
Justin: You are the man! Thanks for sending this. You know, I couldn’t help but think as this panel discussed the “Holy City Massacre” – and the fact confessed shooter Dylann Storm Roof was in possession of a gun he shouldn’t have had – that it was the government which screwed up the enforcement. Seriously, a law was already on the books in Roof’s situation – the government just dropped the ball. The fact this failure is now being used as an excuse to further erode our Second Amendment freedom is truly reprehensible.
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(Banner image via Sic)