Why the 2nd Amendment Matters: What the Paper Promises, the Bullet Guarantees

Wise men founded this country. Not dummies. People who had schooling backed by experience. They knew something true about human nature. 

The truest thing those wise men who founded this country knew was that we as humans will always thwart our best laid plans with our worst instincts.

Unless, of course, you prepare for the collision of the two.

You see, the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th amendments all represented idealistic promises for the young new country. 

The United States of America was to stand in stark contrast to the country across the pond which stood for monarchy, arbitrary rule, tyranny by fiat, and the lack of liberty.

We on the other hand would stand for democracy, consensual rule, authority by trust, and the utmost of liberty. 

We would uphold our people’s rights to speak freely, pray freely, assemble in public freely, petition the government freely. 

We would ensure that the government could not commandeer your home at will, either to quarter troops in it or to seize and search it unlawfully. 

We would make certain that all had the right to fair, speedy, and public trials—and that no judge could hand out cruel or unusual punishments if you were found guilty. 

The wise ones who founded this country made these promises at the onset of this nation’s life because they knew what life was like without them.

But they threw in another right. The 2nd amendment. This one is not a high-minded ideal. It is a cold, hard, factual affront to naivete. 

All shall have the right to bear arms.

Why would the Founding Fathers, in their wisdom, include this item on the menu of rights?

Because they knew the people needed a way to guarantee their rights for themselves. And the way to do that was to empower the people to be on equal footing with the government.

The relationship between people and government was not to be the same as that between subjects and ruler. The government should have a degree of fear of its own people. It should worry that, if wielded poorly or maliciously, power could be wrested away by the people over whom power was supposed to be effectively and beneficially exercised.

That’s what the 2nd Amendment is doing up there on the most sacred piece of paper ever to wear ink in the history of our great land.

That’s the importance of your right as an American to own a gun, know how to use it, and keep it proudly in your home. Whether you hunt or shoot recreationally, doesn’t matter.

You have the right to defend yourself. 

You have the right to be equipped against tyrants as well as criminals. 

You have the right to guarantee your rights.