The Patriot Post - Alexander's Column 4-29-2015

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The Patriot Post - Alexander's Column 4-29-2015
From The Federalist Patriot
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2016 Presidential Field on Guns and Liberty
Remarks at the 2015 NRA Leadership Forum

By Mark Alexander

Apr. 29, 2015

“The ultimate authority … resides in the people alone. The advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation … forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition, more insurmountable than any.” —James Madison (1788.)

Recently, the National Rifle Association’s leadership hosted me at their 144th convention in Nashville. Though an NRA Life Member for decades, this was the first NRA convention I have attended, as the demands of publishing deadlines don’t allow much travel.

While I never even made it to the exhibit halls in the three days I was there, I did attend a succession of leadership meetings and events, and met many remarkable Patriots. And it was great to connect with some old friends, including the NRA’s most tireless Second Amendment (2A1) advocate, Joe DeBergalis2. Fact is, anywhere you turned in my home state’s capital, there were Patriot supporters of the Second Amendment — more than 80,000 of them.

I also had the opportunity to meet with some of the announced and potential 2016 presidential candidates. (No, Hillary Clinton was not there, but I assume you know her position on guns and Liberty!) They each delivered brief remarks regarding their record of support for the Second Amendment, and below I have provided links to each speaker’s comments.

However, before going there, allow me to provide a brief context for their remarks, and note that I can assure you: Each and every speaker clearly grasped and articulated two key principles.

First, Liberty is an “innate and inalienable right3” as set forth in our Declaration of Independence and enshrined in our Constitution, the latter establishing Rule of Law4 in order to protect those rights.

Second, the Rights of Man are only as sustainable as they are defendable — thus our Founders provide for that defense via Article II5 of our Constitution6.

In 1791, our Founders codified both the innate right to and obligation for that defense in our Constitution by appending 10 Articles — the Bill of Rights7. In accordance with the second of these Articles8: “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.”

For the record, in the context intended by our Founders and affirmed by the Supreme Court over the last two centuries, “a well regulated Militia” refers to the People.

While those Articles are commonly referred to as “Amendments,” there is a distinction between the two. While Articles are inherent to our Constitution, Amendments alter parts of our Constitution. The addition of the Bill of Rights was the subject of hotly contested debates among our Founders. Many objected to listing innate rights “endowed by our Creator” because such listing might convey that those indigenous rights are subject to alteration or amendment9 — which they most assuredly are not.

Indeed, both Article I and II, while not specifically altered by amendment, have certainly been subject to much alteration by judicial meddling and mischief10.

In regard to the defense of the Second Amendment, the nation’s leading organization holding that line is the NRA, America’s longest-standing civil rights organization. The NRA, originally chartered in New York in 1871, now has more than five million active members, 117,000 Certified Firearms Instructors and more than 800,000 Americans attend NRA firearms courses annually.

Regarding the NRA’s conventions, it is worth noting that whenever the NRA is in town the host city’s police department attests that the crime rate drops off the charts. Too bad this year’s convention was not this week in Baltimore. Of course, Maryland has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the nation, and there is a direct and demonstrable correlation between gun restrictions and crime. Cities with the highest crime rates also have the strictest gun laws.

According to the most reputable polling on firearms, there are more than 60 million gun owners11 in the U.S. More than 40% of American households have firearms, and 65% of those are handguns. (Of course, many Americans simply refuse to answer pollsters' questions as to whether they own a firearm.)

The most recent Pew Research Center poll12 on firearms reports a significant shift in support for gun rights and ownership. That shift was the subject of a recent interview with Yale researcher John Lott13, who is now Director of the Crime Prevention Research Center.

Now, there are some folks who don’t understand the enthusiasm of their fellow Americans for lawful gun ownership, but they most certainly know somebody who owns a firearm. I recommend they thank those gun owners for their commitment to the Second Amendment, because they are exercising the Constitution’s first defense for all the rights of citizens.

The NRA convention’s welcoming comments were delivered by my friend, Sen. Bob Corker, who has a solid record of 2A support. — Remarks14

Introducing the Leadership Forum lineup was the Executive Director of NRA-ILA, Chris Cox: “Friends, we are here to celebrate American values, and lying is not one of them, so you are not going to hear from [a few people who were not invited].” Chris included a video featuring Barack “I believe in the Second Amendment” Obama, Joe “The president and I support the Second Amendment” Biden, Michael “Nobody questions the Second Amendment right to bear arms” Bloomberg, and Chuck “There is a Second Amendment right to bear arms” Schumer. He concluded, “But you will hear from some true champions of freedom.” — Remarks15