Enemies Without ; Enemies Within

Threats to our safety come from two sources: external and internal—those outside the nation and those within. People who clamor for gun registration and cry that we should deny gun ownership have naively ignored the potential for the internal threats to our well-being that make private ownership of weapons an absolute necessity. Multiple sources exist for these threats, from native born terrorists, thieves and rapists, to those who violently discriminate or act out grudges. Internal threats can also come from a government run amok.

 

Those who would “protect us” by taking our guns have failed to see that those we trust. whether they be neighbors,  those struggling with their own demons, or government officials and agencies, sometimes betray us. Gun restrictions, including registration of gun owners, invite our victimization by internal forces. Surely this is like protecting your property from mountain lions while ignoring the wolves in the front yard.

 

The following excerpts from Promises of the Constitution: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow, pp. 232-233 explain the threat from internal forces.

 

Every successful, prosperous nation must defend itself against enemies, including those within the government. A major part of our protection comes from the Second Amendment, which reads: “Because a well-regulated state militia is necessary for the security of a free people, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed by the federal government.”

 

The Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution, in its 1982 report entitled The Right to Keep and Bear Arms, investigated and reported the intent of the Founding Fathers on this topic. The subcommittee states: “The conclusion is thus inescapable that the . . . Second Amendment . . . indicates that . . . [the] individual right of a private citizen to own and carry firearms in a peaceful manner” is our constitutional right.

 

If the government takes weapons from peaceable citizens, it leaves them at the mercy of criminals and despots. History demonstrates that a nation sliding into despotism typically forces gun registration, then provokes an incident that “requires” the confiscation of weapons. George Mason, [a] drafter of the [Constitution and the] Virginia Bill of Rights, accused the British of having plotted ‘”to disarm the people—that was the best and most effective way to enslave them.”

 

History begs us not to forget that we bear arms to protect ourselves from enemies without, and within. The lessons of history, forged in ancient and modern nations across the globe, warn us: Citizens, be alert! Let watchfulness be your cry!

 

- Pam