LETTER from GARRETT deBLIECK

‘Right To Bear Arms,’

An ‘Unalienable’ Part

Of U.S. Constitution

To the Editor:

It seems writing this out shouldn’t be necessary. 2AS, spelled out is “Second Amendment Sanctuary.”

The word “sanctuary” meaning a place of safety, refuge and protection. The Second Amendment is one of 10 listed “unalienable” Rights written in our Constitutional Law. So, put together, it is a cause of protecting and safeguarding an American Right. So where is the problem?

Perhaps a proper start is identifying that the origin of the Bill of Rights is grounded on the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration lists 27 transgressions of Great Britain against the Colonies. These transgressions manifested by virtue of violating basic rights of the people. As the Declaration states, “…that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights”…” That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

Therein lies the necessity of the Bill of Rights. Rights which function as what government is prohibited to violate.
If there is ever a word among all written within the Constitution, I cannot imagine any more actively ignored than “infringed.”

Taken straight from the Merriam-Webster dictionary; “to encroach upon in a way that violates law or the rights of another.”

Enter now the nonstop obsession toward “gun control” laws. By their very definition, manifest as infringements. For decades, we have, as a people, generally permitted various gun control laws. But over the past few years in particular, it seems like the sun cannot set without some other invented form of gun regulation or prohibition.

The straw that broke the camel’s back has been the proposed draconian prohibitions, bans and ever more gun controls in the state of Virginia. This was compounded by various federal government politicians who removed their masks and called for outright gun bans. Further, Governor Cuomo has in mind yet another chain of regulations and prohibitions. The Bill of Rights be damned. We, of 2AS, stand united claiming, “Enough Is Enough!”

There seems so much that the “anti-gunners” do not understand concerning the function of the Second Amendment. One prime example is the phrase “no sanctuary for guns”. And another manifested as a statement decrying America embracing a “gun culture.” Whether these people were misinformed or deliberately deceived, they are clearly embracing what the Right isn’t.

This may come as a surprise to some, but the foundation of the Second Amendment is NOT about guns. It is about ensuring a balance of power “to the security of a free State.” Thomas Paine expressed it in this way, “The balance of power is the scale of peace. The same balance would be preserved were all the world destitute in arms, for all would be alike; but since some will not, others dare not lay them aside.”

In other words, if all firearms on this earth were to evaporate into thin air, would we still need a Second Amendment? The answer is yes, because arms of other forms (axes, knives…etc) remain. Imbalances of power can still exist. Human history is filled with examples where oppression, ages before any firearm came into existence, could have been avoided.

But firearms exist in the modern world. Therefore, a balance of power can only be achieved by virtue of equal firearm possession between the governing and the governed. This is less a “culture” than it is a free civilization necessity. Supporting gun bans will not make the guns disappear. Rather it creates a power imbalance. “Peace” exists only at the pleasure of the powerful. History teaches this a fool’s errand.

GARRETT deBLIECK
Unadilla