Sunday August, 5th we learned of yet another shooting?  A Sikh temple attracted the attention of a shooter (or as some in the media reported initially ‘shooters’) spree which left over a half dozen dead and many more injured.   My heart goes out to the families of those who were killed.  Regardless of the religion and race of these people they are people who have come to America, whether for business, to further their religion or some other reason…  And it is truly sad that this would create a breach in a people who meant no harm to others.  Truly they are the victims, yet our whole nation suffers because of the idiocy of someone on a killing spree.

And now, unfortunately our fellow American’s who hate guns have yet another piece of garbage to fling at our sacred Second Amendment rights.  In the next week we’ll undoubtedly be hearing about how terrible guns are.  They’ll be using new arguments– now they will not only do guns kill people, but they’re used to obstruct religious freedom and hurt people of other races.   On and on the rant will continue.  Destroy the evil guns.  Take them out of the hands of citizens and there won’t be a problem…  Or so these leftists would have us believe.  This is just another convenient occurrence to fuel the hate some have toward our a right given us in our nation’s founding document.

Yes, these shootings happen, but the gun isn’t at fault.  It is the person behind the gun who is actually committing the crime.  How hard is it to understand that?  In areas of the nation where gun laws our strictest that is where our crime is the highest.  Thus if guns are taken away crime will only increase.  Remember the shooting in Norway?  That nation has particularly strict gun laws, yet scores of lives were changed forever by an armed killer and nobody there had a method of defense.  Ever notice that these shootings don’t take place at a location where people would shoot back?  When was the last time there was a shooting at a gun show?  What about the local Rotary club?  In New Mexico in most areas the shooter would be lucky if he lasted twenty seconds.  Something would happen and the person initiating the shooting would come up with the short straw.

Gun laws don’t stop criminals from killing.  If one is going to kill someone, breaking another law won’t deter them.  Restricting our rights will only hurt the law-abiding…first there will be fewer law-abiding (because many would not submit to unconstitutional laws), second the worst criminals will still have guns…we would see drug cartels empowered and ready to take advantage of us even more!   Here in New Mexico the reality of this is all the more frightening.  One sees how lawless the border can be.  One more law which will only restrict the law-abiding will not benefit anyone but the criminals.

The lasting effect of taking our rights away would be terrible.  Not only would we no longer be the free nation we are, but our founder’s entire purpose would be severely weakened, as Thomas Jefferson said, “Laws that forbid the carrying of arms, disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed one.”

Freedom is essential in a nation like ours.  That is what has made us different from the beginning, we have sought to keep the God-given right of freedom.  We must never forget!