Finally the Supreme Court rules for the people

It’s amazing to me that we needed the US Supreme Court to declare out loud what a majority of Americans already knew. The right to keep and bear firearms is a guaranteed individual right as stated in the second amendment to the US Constitution. Why was such a huge part of the population dazed and confused, convinced that the Bill of Rights, which goes to great lengths to address our individual rights, had one – and one only –“States Rights” amendment designed to allow states to maintain Militias ?

The Supremes finally made it known that they support us as individuals in this case. We now have continuity from our founding fathers to our present day leaders on the second amendment. Consider the words of Thomas Jefferson.

· " 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"

· " No freeman shall be debarred the use of arms (within his own lands or tenements)."

" The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government."

Two more, that are also to the point

· George Washington’s simple assertion that “A free people ought to be armed”

· Benjamin Franklin’s great statement on “mob-ocracy” - “Democracy is two wolves and lamb voting on what to eat for lunch, liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote”

In our day we have the brilliant Supreme Court Justice, Antonin Scalia. This one statement was music to most Americans. "The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home”

The ladies in my household know how to properly handle rifles, pistols and shotguns. They are 120 pound females, but it is that .357 magnum handgun that makes them equal to the 280 pound crack head that may want to mess with them. They are not afraid to be left alone, and if some suspicious character shows up at the door, they call the police first before ever resorting to firearm based self defense. But, if some lowlife insists on entering the home before the police arrive, they will be met with a telltale click, a verbal warning, and then a very fast case of lead poisoning. This is the most individual right I know of, to allow my daughters and wife to protect themselves.

The Supreme Court case, D.C. v Heller was about the constitutionality of a total ban on the ownership of handguns. The DC gun ban, like most of our other 275,000 restrictive gun laws, are thrust on an unwilling citizenry in the name of greater public safety. The reality was though, that the law never made a dent in the city's gun crime. D.C. still ranks among the most dangerous places in America. At least now, the Supreme Court has acknowledged the constitutional right of law-abiding citizens to protect their own lives when the police can't respond immediately.

If the mere presence of legally owned guns caused shootings as liberals claim, then it follows where there are lots of legal guns there must be lots of shootings. The nationwide crime statistics tell a vastly different story though. Shootings are much more frequent and numerous where there are fewer legal guns.

The one consistent thread in all areas where there are high gun deaths is the presence of gang and illicit drug activity. Not surprisingly, communities that pass laws to disarm the general populace have the highest rate of gang and drug activity, and the highest percentage of murders.

The low point in this decision was the fact that four of the Justices voted to continue to infringe our individual rights spelled out in the 2^nd amendment. All four in the minority said that the right is clearly an individual right and not a collective right, but still needs lots of government infringement. The reality is though; we were one vote away from being stripped of one of our key individual rights.

My final thought is that all of the other rights stated in the Bill of Rights would be very easy to take away from us if the second amendment went away. So even if you are an anti-gun activist, your right to protest is held secure by a wise Supreme Court, and the backing of 200 million legal gun owners in the United States who ensure your rights remain intact