I would like to focus on the part that says, “[N]or shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law…”6 That’s saying that they CANNOT take your rights without due process of law. What is that, you may be asking. Well the Due Process Clause 39 of Manga Carta explains it pretty well. It reads,
“No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by law of the land.”7
In other words, your rights cannot be taken from you unless there are lawful reasons! Therefore it is our right as citizens of the United States to keep and bear arms and our rights cannot be taken from us unless each of us had done something unlawful to lose our rights. This means that the banning of firearms would not only be severely unlawful but also severely unconstitutional. We have rights people! Wake up! Our freedoms were won with guns so don’t go taken our freedoms away!
Now let’s get into some facts and statistics, shall we? In 1976 Washington D.C. decided to pass a law stopping people from possessing handguns and requiring that all firearms within the home had to be unloaded and made so that they were temporarily unusable. They had to either be disassembled or have a trigger lock. When this law was passed murder rates in Washington D.C. skyrocketed to numbers 73%8 higher than before the law was passed. I think their plan kind of backfired on them; and apparently they realized that because on June 26, 2008 the law was struck down as unconstitutional. Guess what happened to murder rates! Yeah, they dropped drastically!
Then in Chicago in 1981 a handgun ban was passed and became effective. Most people would think that banning handguns completely would cause the rates of murders with handguns to drop like crazy but that’s not the facts of what really happened! Instead of dropping the murder rates with handguns grew to numbers 40%9 higher than they were before laws were passed! Obviously banning handguns didn’t do much for Chicago!
Now let’s look at what happens when the right to keep and bear arms isn’t taken away but somewhat encouraged. In 1987 Florida passed a right-to-carry law. The right-to-carry law requires that the person carrying the firearm must be 21 years or older. They must have a clean criminal/mental health record and they must complete a handgun proficiency course. After Florida passed their right-to-carry law Florida’s murder rates dropped to numbers 36%10 lower! Not only did Florida’s murder rates drop out so did the United States’ murder rates! United States’ murder rates dropped to numbers 15%11 lower!
In 1996 Texas also passed a right-to-carry law. What happened to murder rates? You guessed it! They dropped! Texas murder rates dropped to numbers 30%12 lower and U.S. murder rates dropped to numbers 28%13 lower! Are you getting the picture yet? When restrictions or bans are put on our Second Amendment murder rates skyrocket! They don’t drop! But when laws are passed encouraging our Second Amendment murder rates drop! What do you think will happen if we completely ban firearms and get rid of our Second Amendment? I would hate to see what happens to murder rates then…
Well there we have it everyone. You now know the reasons why we should not allow them to take away our rights of the Second Amendment! Not only do we need the guns for our own protection and self-defense it is also our rights as citizens of the United States! Our rights cannot be taken away unless through due process of law! Don’t let the government take away your rights! Men and women die every day fighting for your rights in the United States Constitution! Honor their sacrifices and stand up for your rights to the Second Amendment! Remember the statistics and facts when they try to convince you to get rid of the Second Amendment! Do you want to see murder rates skyrocket to all-time highs? I know I don’t! Be smart and keep the Second, and remember this country was founded on God and forged with guns!
ENDNOTES
1 Orrin G. Hatch, “Subcommittee on the Constitution,” (January 20, 1982), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_to_keep_and_bear_arms, (accessed May 22nd, 2013)
2 Orrin G. Hatch, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_to_keep_and_bear_arms, (accessed May 22nd, 2013)
3Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia, May 18th, 2013, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution, (accessed May 22nd, 2013)
4Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia, May 18th, 2013, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_to_keep_and_bear_arms, (accessed May 22nd, 2013)
5Seton Hall Constitutional Law Journal, www.saf.org/LawReviews/Blodgett-Ford.html, (accessed May 22nd, 2013)
6Seton Hall Constitutional Law Journal, www.saf.org/LawReviews/Blodgett-Ford.html, (accessed May 22nd, 2013)
7Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia, April 30th, 2013, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Due_Process_Clause, (accessed May 22nd, 2013)
8Just Facts, 2010, www.justfacts.com/guncontrol.asp, (accessed May 22nd, 2013)
9 Just Facts, www.justfacts.com/guncontrol.asp
10Just Facts, www.justfacts.com/guncontrol.asp
11Just Facts, www.justfacts.com/guncontrol.asp
12Just Facts, www.justfacts.com/guncontrol.asp
13Just Facts, www.justfacts.com/guncontrol.asp
Be Smart, Keep the Second!
Start from the beginning
