The Teeth of Liberty
America’s teeth of liberty are in jeopardy of condemnation. While the
debate swirls concerning the meaning and usefulness of the Second Amendment of
the Constitution, the main point of contention is centered on whether the private
law-abiding citizen may own firearms. To many the answer is a ringing “Yes”,
but why is it important? The three significant facets in the debate are self-defense,
governmental control, and recreational shooting.
‘And I looked, and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the
rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and
awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and
your houses.”’1 Here in the Biblical book of Nehemiah, we discover a clear command
to defend our homes from those who would bring death, destruction and devastation to our doorsteps.
This charge addresses not only foreign invaders, as in this case, but also the
threat of criminal violence and the peril of wild animals which one may
occasionally run into. For “The sixth commandment [Thou shalt not kill]
requireth all lawful endeavors to preserve our own life, and the life of
others.”2 In the Declaration of Independence we are told that men
“…are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,
that among these are Life, Liberty, and pursuit of Happiness.”
In order to preserve life and liberty, and therefore happiness,
one must have a means of defense. Frederic Bastiat stated in his pamphlet
The Law, “Each of us has a natural right—from God—to defend his person,
his liberty, and his property. These are the three basic requirements of life,
and the preservation of any one of them is completely dependent upon the
preservation of the other two.”3 Not only do we have the God-given right of self-preservation,
we are commanded to guard life. Life is sacred. Our Founding Fathers believed
this and by writing the Second Amendment affirmed the freedom of self-defense to
future generations. Samuel Adams asserted “…still there is the great and
perpetual law of self-preservation, to which every natural person or corporate
body hath an inherent right to recur. This being the law of the Creator, no
human law can be of force against it…”4
No law of man, whether established by the government or otherwise, can
legitimately divest of us our right of self-defense. Self-defense is not just
an individual’s preservation of himself, but also the safeguarding of his
freedoms and rights. Those who own firearms function as a restraint on the
government. Governments require checks and balances because they are inclined
to tyranny. Knowledgeable gun owners are a very important and effective check
in the fashion that, “while the people have property, arms in their hands, and
only the spark of a noble spirit, the most corrupt congress must be mad to form
any project of tyranny.”5 Tyranny is any endeavor to strip the rights and freedoms
from the people to whom they rightfully belong. The American people actually have a duty,
as stated in the Declaration of Independence, “to throw off such Government [which
“evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism”], and to provide new
Guards for their future security.” This assertion, along with the Second
Amendment, ought to arrest the insolence of the government when it craves to
undermine the authority belonging to the American people. Thomas Jefferson
declared: “What country can preserve its liberties, if its rulers are not warned
from time to time that this people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them
take arms.”6 The primary reason the preservation of our Second Amendment
is so important depends upon the reality that once a population is disarmed,
the government may easily progress to tyranny of the worst sort. The utterance
of one of the most notorious tyrants in modern history ought to solidify the
idea that without a means by which to effectively assert themselves, the members
of a society become little more than slaves to their government. Adolf Hitler observed,
“The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to allow the subjected people
to carry arms; history shows that all conquerors who have allowed their subjected people
to carry arms have prepared their own fall.”7
The third aspect of the Second Amendment debate is no less important to the
gun owner. Hunting and sport shooting have been staples of the American life
since the first European settlers arrived in the 1500’s. It is through
recreational shooting that one acquires accuracy and therefore becomes an
inimitable defender of home and family. Through responsible hunting man takes
dominion over the earth, fulfilling his God-given role as stated in Genesis
1:28b “…fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea,
over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Conservation and control of the animal population by hunting keeps the dictates
of this commission. If man did not control certain animals through hunting,
there would be a superabundance of these creatures and they would destroy
livelihoods, property, and even lives. Shooting is not only an enjoyable sport;
it also teaches responsibility and self-discipline. The person who uses
firearms learns early to be responsible and disciplined, because carelessness
with a loaded weapon is calamitous.
The Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America is
extremely important to this country, as it guarantees to the citizen his freedom
to protect himself from both foreign and domestic enemies and to provide food
for his table. These words, attributed to George Washington, buttress the
debate against those who are anti-gun; “Firearms stand next to importance to the
Constitution itself. They are the American people’s liberty teeth.”8
1. Nehemiah 4:14 (New King James Version)
2. Westminster Shorter Catechism; Question 68
3. The Law by Frederic Bastiat (pg 1)
4. As quoted in The Christian History of the Constitution
of the United States of America by Verna M. Hall (pg282A)
5. Rev. Collin as quoted in The Second Amendment Primer
by Les Adams (pg 123)
6. Democracy by Thomas Jefferson (pg 260)
7. As quoted in The Second Amendment Primer by Les
Adams (pg 149)
8. As quoted in The Bill of Rights, Its Purpose and Meaning
and 14th Amendment Incorporation: Original and Current Understandings by
William D. Graves exerted from The Journal of Christian Reconstruction
(pg 175)
America’s teeth of liberty are in jeopardy of condemnation. While the
debate swirls concerning the meaning and usefulness of the Second Amendment of
the Constitution, the main point of contention is centered on whether the private
law-abiding citizen may own firearms. To many the answer is a ringing “Yes”,
but why is it important? The three significant facets in the debate are self-defense,
governmental control, and recreational shooting.
‘And I looked, and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the
rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and
awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and
your houses.”’1 Here in the Biblical book of Nehemiah, we discover a clear command
to defend our homes from those who would bring death, destruction and devastation to our doorsteps.
This charge addresses not only foreign invaders, as in this case, but also the
threat of criminal violence and the peril of wild animals which one may
occasionally run into. For “The sixth commandment [Thou shalt not kill]
requireth all lawful endeavors to preserve our own life, and the life of
others.”2 In the Declaration of Independence we are told that men
“…are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,
that among these are Life, Liberty, and pursuit of Happiness.”
In order to preserve life and liberty, and therefore happiness,
one must have a means of defense. Frederic Bastiat stated in his pamphlet
The Law, “Each of us has a natural right—from God—to defend his person,
his liberty, and his property. These are the three basic requirements of life,
and the preservation of any one of them is completely dependent upon the
preservation of the other two.”3 Not only do we have the God-given right of self-preservation,
we are commanded to guard life. Life is sacred. Our Founding Fathers believed
this and by writing the Second Amendment affirmed the freedom of self-defense to
future generations. Samuel Adams asserted “…still there is the great and
perpetual law of self-preservation, to which every natural person or corporate
body hath an inherent right to recur. This being the law of the Creator, no
human law can be of force against it…”4
No law of man, whether established by the government or otherwise, can
legitimately divest of us our right of self-defense. Self-defense is not just
an individual’s preservation of himself, but also the safeguarding of his
freedoms and rights. Those who own firearms function as a restraint on the
government. Governments require checks and balances because they are inclined
to tyranny. Knowledgeable gun owners are a very important and effective check
in the fashion that, “while the people have property, arms in their hands, and
only the spark of a noble spirit, the most corrupt congress must be mad to form
any project of tyranny.”5 Tyranny is any endeavor to strip the rights and freedoms
from the people to whom they rightfully belong. The American people actually have a duty,
as stated in the Declaration of Independence, “to throw off such Government [which
“evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism”], and to provide new
Guards for their future security.” This assertion, along with the Second
Amendment, ought to arrest the insolence of the government when it craves to
undermine the authority belonging to the American people. Thomas Jefferson
declared: “What country can preserve its liberties, if its rulers are not warned
from time to time that this people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them
take arms.”6 The primary reason the preservation of our Second Amendment
is so important depends upon the reality that once a population is disarmed,
the government may easily progress to tyranny of the worst sort. The utterance
of one of the most notorious tyrants in modern history ought to solidify the
idea that without a means by which to effectively assert themselves, the members
of a society become little more than slaves to their government. Adolf Hitler observed,
“The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to allow the subjected people
to carry arms; history shows that all conquerors who have allowed their subjected people
to carry arms have prepared their own fall.”7
The third aspect of the Second Amendment debate is no less important to the
gun owner. Hunting and sport shooting have been staples of the American life
since the first European settlers arrived in the 1500’s. It is through
recreational shooting that one acquires accuracy and therefore becomes an
inimitable defender of home and family. Through responsible hunting man takes
dominion over the earth, fulfilling his God-given role as stated in Genesis
1:28b “…fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea,
over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Conservation and control of the animal population by hunting keeps the dictates
of this commission. If man did not control certain animals through hunting,
there would be a superabundance of these creatures and they would destroy
livelihoods, property, and even lives. Shooting is not only an enjoyable sport;
it also teaches responsibility and self-discipline. The person who uses
firearms learns early to be responsible and disciplined, because carelessness
with a loaded weapon is calamitous.
The Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America is
extremely important to this country, as it guarantees to the citizen his freedom
to protect himself from both foreign and domestic enemies and to provide food
for his table. These words, attributed to George Washington, buttress the
debate against those who are anti-gun; “Firearms stand next to importance to the
Constitution itself. They are the American people’s liberty teeth.”8
1. Nehemiah 4:14 (New King James Version)
2. Westminster Shorter Catechism; Question 68
3. The Law by Frederic Bastiat (pg 1)
4. As quoted in The Christian History of the Constitution
of the United States of America by Verna M. Hall (pg282A)
5. Rev. Collin as quoted in The Second Amendment Primer
by Les Adams (pg 123)
6. Democracy by Thomas Jefferson (pg 260)
7. As quoted in The Second Amendment Primer by Les
Adams (pg 149)
8. As quoted in The Bill of Rights, Its Purpose and Meaning
and 14th Amendment Incorporation: Original and Current Understandings by
William D. Graves exerted from The Journal of Christian Reconstruction
(pg 175)