Do you ever watch the news??
Or at least have an understanding of the events unfolding around us??
Do you think that these shooters and mass murderers with their barbaric actions represent us as humans??
I started this project to spread love and pos...
It has taken me a great deal of time to figure out how to put my thoughts onto paper, primarily because I don't think there are words that can fully express how I feel about the recent tragedy in Las Vegas, but also because I know my thoughts may not be readily accepted or understood by many – in fact, there is a good chance I'm going to offend someone in the coming paragraphs. That said, please know it is not my intention to do so, but if I'm not honest what is the point in writing to begin with?
First, I think a little lesson in Constitutional history is in order, especially for those who do not live in the US and may not fully understand why we do what we do. At first glance, our government may not make sense to a lot of people, but for us it works. Make no mistake, it's far from perfect, but it's also not as bad as the media would have you believe (especially if you live abroad and don't walk our streets daily.) Our Constitution sets the framework for our government, a government literally run by the people. We vote for representatives, we vote for our leader (like them or not, they are our leader), we vote for laws on a local level, and many other things that regulate our lives.
The Legislative branch (Congress and Senate) of our government creates bills that are voted on, and if approved they are enacted as law or regulation. The states may also do so, as long as they do not contradict federal law. Our Executive branch (President, Vice President and Cabinet) are the leaders of the nation, the ones tasked with leading our military, interacting in foreign affairs, etc. Our Judicial branch (Supreme Court) is the highest court in the land and is asked with determining the constitutionality of laws.
Our Constitution is the backbone of our nation. This piece of paper was drafted in an effort to ensure that we were never again run by a radical, greedy, or far-reaching government (like I said, it isn't perfect but we try). There are amendments in the Constitution that are basic laws, the first ten of which we call the Bill of Rights. These rights are considered inalienable, and have served our country well. The amendment that pops into the forefront of everyone's mind after an event such as Las Vegas, is the second amendment which states "...a well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
What does that mean? It means we have the right to own a firearm, no questions asked. Why? Because in terms of history, it wasn't that long ago that a merciless King in England thought he could slaughter us to get us to bend to his will. Our founding fathers wanted our country to always remain free, and to ensure a country remains free it must be ready to defend itself against those who would attempt to turn on it – its government, for example. Constitutionally, we have the right to overthrow our government if it becomes tyrannical (and in more modern language, to protect ourselves from anyone who would do us harm). That scares a lot of people, especially people who live in countries where firearms are banned for private use.
