Opinion: As American As Apple Pie

In the last few days, two contenders for the GOP presidential nomination said the Second Amendment, with its promise that the people shall never be disarmed, was an obstacle to over-reaching or tyrannical government.

Ted Cruz called the right to keep and bear arms a ”fundamental check on government tyranny,” while Ben Carson stressed that “if the government...ever became tyrannical, and wanted to dominate the people, the Second Amendment guarantees the people the means whereby to defend themselves.” Another prominent Republican, Bobby Jindal, alluded to this important role in an interview with Breitbart, and Donald Trump also spoke out recently on the roll of armed citizens in crime fighting.

Just last fall, US Senate candidate Joni Ernst drew much caterwauling from the Left when it was revealed that she had told an NRA convention in 2012 that “I do believe in the right to carry [a handgun], and I believe in the right to defend myself and my family – whether it’s from an intruder, or whether it’s from the government, should they decide that my rights are no longer important.” Despite this, and the cackling of crackpots about some mythical “war on women” – a flailing bit of nonsense redolent of a worldview dominated by adolescents – Ernst won the general election by a landslide – and with 48% of women’s vote. Senate leader Harry Reid said Ernst’s views were “out of line with...mainstream Americans.” Now he’s out of a job.

Democrats took advantage of another opportunity to look silly and out of step when Rep. Carolyn Maloney of New York called on the Capitol Hill police to investigate GOA’s Larry Pratt last year, after he had said that the purpose of the Second Amendment is to “restrain[] tyrannical tendencies in government.” Perhaps, for Rep. Maloney, the shoe fit too well. Thousands upon thousands of gun-owners rallied to Pratt’s defense, invoking the “I am Spartacus!” sentiment by posting messages with the tag, ”I am Larry Pratt!,” on GOA’s website. Maloney wisely backed down.

The truth is, the view that Americans should own guns to defend themselves, and against their own government if need be, is consistent with the opinions of those who were alive when the Constitution and Second Amendment were being written and debated; not only was gun ownership considered a fundamental American right, but no one objected to the oft-repeated notion that armed citizens provide a bulwark against tyrants and their legions. My favorite quote from this time period comes from the Pennsylvanian Tench Coxe, a friend of James Madison. He wrote in 1788 that

Their swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birth-right of an American...[T]he unlimited power of the sword is not in the hands of either the federal or state governments, but, where I trust in God it will ever remain, in the hands of the people.

Joseph Story, a highly respected American jurist and Supreme Court Justice, wrote in his Commentaries on the Constitution, first published in 1833, that “[t]he right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered as the palladium of the liberties of a republic; since it offers a strong moral check against the usurpation and arbitrary power of rulers.” Note that Story not only saw resistance to tyranny as possible – it is the moral obligation of a free citizen.

This pro-gun attitude is alive and well today. In a study of American gun owners in 1997-1998, published in the Journal on Firearms & Public Policy (Fall 2004), Abigail Kohn found that gun-owning Americans see gun ownership as closely related to individualism, freedom, and their national identity. Pew Research recently revealed that a majority of Americans (52%) support the right to keep and bear arms over more restrictions. Gallup found that an even larger majority – 63% – think having a gun in the home makes people safer. Interestingly, both blacks and women view gun ownership positively, by a margin of 54-41 and 51-43, respectively. Even the ultra-statist NPR was moved to acknowledge that gun ownership is growing in popularity among blacks. Under pressure from the Gun Owners Action League, Clear Channel pulled anti-gun billboard ads in Massachusetts. The Christian Science Monitor reported, “The shift in views makes for grim reading for gun control advocates, who...have lost support among every demographic except Hispanics and liberal Democrats.” [Emphasis mine]

Every now and again, even “liberal” Democrats admit they are on the wrong side of this issue. In his memoirs, former president Bill Clinton credited the pro-gun vote for costing his party control of Congress in 1994 for the first time in 40 years. Colorado’s historic recall election in 2013 sent two state senators, including the senate president, packing, and a third running for the hills, and all because of their votes in favor of gun control. New Hampshire, even with Democrats controlling the state House of Representatives, failed big time to pass a gun control bill in 2014. Despite spending a small fortune, anti-gunners egged on by Michael Bloomberg also failed to oust Milwaukee County’s pro-gun sheriff. In an op-ed for the Washington Times, Sheriff Clarke commented, “Losing to a local sheriff in a county dominated by Democratic Party voters just might have set [Bloomberg’s] futile movement back to a point of no recovery.” Democrats sure are wishing President Obama would shut up about gun control going into the 2016 election. Democratic strategist Dave Saunders told the Washington Times last week, ”Every time a Democrat starts talking about guns, they lose numbers.”

In my forthcoming ebook, Freedom and Security: The Right to Keep and Bear Arms, published by the Future of Freedom Foundation and due out around the beginning of June (it will be available on both amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com), I devote a few chapters to the subject of armed resistance, against criminals, racists, mobs – and government officials. Regardless of their views on other matters, politicians like Cruz, Carson, and Ernst, and others are right on target when it comes to guns: the right of the people to keep and bear arms is the greatest safeguard against thugs who prey on the innocent, and thugs who prey on those whose freedoms they are tasked with protecting. Like it or not, this is a mainstream American attitude.