1 Comment
User's avatar
⭠ Return to thread
Phil's avatar

I guess I mistakenly took that initial comment as sarcasm. (And it turned into a full on debate on Sarah's substack.). I turn off the internet for a few days and all hell breaks loose...

"Everybody else is doing it" isn't an admirable philosophy.

America. Not the place subjugated by monarchy, not the place ruled by a king or a queen, or royal families and whose Constitution is built on the idea of protecting our rights FROM the government. The Constitution doesn't grant rights. It does not give rights. It does not bestow rights. We have rights, whether there is a Constitution or not. It recognizes certain rights that shall be protected as law. One of those rights is number two. The reason in 1776 is because ENGLISH troops were occupying houses and taking over towns. The English government is notorious in its history for declaring things like hunting for food is punishable by the king's men. Cutting off men's fingers so they cannot pull a bowstring to operate bow & arrow as weapons. And yes, making it illegal to carry weapons. The purpose for the appearance in the Constitution of a 'right to bear arms' is for the common man to defend himself. Tyranny of the sort in 1776 was in the streets. Troops marching down the streets, collecting weapons, harassing the public, and making demands on them, restrictions, and false mandates. It was considered the right to defend against this kind of tyranny. There is a whole philosophy there about being secure in your property, your possessions, your person from intrusion. The local law enforcement (be it English or American) cannot just declare jus primae noctis because it's 'modern' or because of any ridiculous new argument. People have rights, and people have rights against tyranny. Everyone. They have a right to hunt for food, and fight bandits. To defend their families from people who come to steal their kids, break in to their homes, rape their wives and steal things, be they resellable goods or private papers proving something...

That's the way it is in America. It's part of the very foundation of how we got here. 1776. Independence from English Rule. We're not part of the English government. The English may have chosen a path of following kings and unelected rulers, we Americans did not. I see no reason to change that now. Nor in the future.

We should probably ban swimming pools. Children drown in them all the time. We should probably ban cars. People are killed them every single day. We should probably ban Tylenol, Aspirin, corn syrup, sugar and everything and everything else that might be a threat to human life. The delusion that if you 'take the guns away there will be no more shootings' is one of the most laughable delusions there is. It's like people saying "HE CAN'T DO THAT! THAT'S ILLEGAL!"

Oh yeah? People commit crimes all the time all day long. Law does not stop them. It might stop me, or you or those on this substack, but millions of people are not stopped by any law. When that occurs, you still have rights. Even when there is no cops around, you have rights. Who protects them then?

Expand full comment