News - Constitution

Will your sheriff protect the Second Amendment?

March 17, 2013
Jim Merritt

There can hardly be a section within the U.S. Constitution that is more important to the protection of our rights than the Second Amendment. The Founders knew exactly what they were doing when they added this essential right to the Constitution as part of the Bill of Rights. The Founders believed that the people should have the right to defend themselves against a possible tyrannical government and be able to own the same types of weapons that the government would be able to use against them. When the Bill of Rights was passed by Congress in 1789 and then later ratified by the states in 1791 the musket rifle was the primary weapon used by military soldiers and was the same type of weapon that every day free people owned as well. There was no issue of free people (civilians) having the same level of fire power as the military. These rules of course only applied to free people and not to slaves which were legal to own in some states until the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865 which banned slavery. It is interesting to note that the first gun control laws came about after the civil war and were designed to forbid blacks and other minorities from owning fire arms. These discriminatory laws against blacks and other minorities were passed by state legislatures and not the federal government.

After the ratification of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and even into the early 1900's most civilians (except blacks and other minorities) of the United States had access to the same types of weapons as was used by the military. In the late 1800's the first fully automatic weapons were produced and at that time were not illegal for people to own, possess or use. Most people would agree today that at that time in our nation's history most civilians (except blacks and other minorities) had access to the same types of weapons as was used by the military.

Then in 1934 the National Firearms Act was passed which required people to pay a tax and be granted permission by a federal government agency (the Treasury Department for whatever reason) in order to own a fully automatic weapon. Ever since this federal restriction on firearms (which was clearly unconstitutional) there has been a constant endeavor by gun control advocates to restrict and even remove the right of the people to bear arms. In 1968 fully automatic weapons were further restricted by the passage of the Gun Control Act which made it illegal (by interpretation of the ATF) to import fully automatic fire arms to be sold to civilians. Then in 1986 the Firearms Owners' Protection Act was passed which made it illegal for any civilian to possess an automatic weapon manufactured after May 19, 1986. In 1994 the Federal Assault Weapons ban passed which in general made it illegal for civilians to purchase (not possess) new "assault weapons". Fortunately the assault weapons ban of 1994 had a 10 year expiration date unless it was reinstated by a further act of Congress which did not happen.

Today the issue of gun control is once again a hot issue in the country. A few tragic incidents have recently occurred involving the use of guns that have the gun control advocates chomping at the bit to finish their evil plans to forbid the ownership or use of firearms by civilians. The good news is that millions of law abiding citizens around the country are waking up to the fact that the federal government is planning to establish a monopoly of force by disarming the people. World history in the last 100 years has produced many examples of governments that first disarmed their people and then became tyrannical. When people are disarmed they are left with no real bargaining power to correct the situation of a tyrannical government. Some past governments such as Germany under the rule of Adolf Hitler, Russia under Joseph Stalin and China under Mao Tse-tung have been responsible for killing well over 100 million people that were first disarmed before the mass murder could begin.

It cannot be overstated that the disarming of the American people can never be allowed to happen. Millions of Americans today are joining gun rights groups in order to protect their right to bear arms. One of the most important things that the American people can do to prevent the federal government from confiscating fire arms should a federal gun confiscation law be unconstitutionally passed is to make sure that every sheriff of every county (or parish as some states call them) of every state will refuse to carry out gun confiscation orders by the federal government. A sheriff is the highest ranking law enforcement officer of a county and is regularly elected by the people of the county. If the sheriff of your county will not openly state that he or she will refuse to follow a federal gun confiscation order then your top priority must be to replace that person in the next election by someone that will. Making sure that our locally elected law enforcement officers are dedicated to preserving the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights is of paramount importance. If the ability of the American people to protect themselves against a tyrannical government is taken away it is almost a 100% certainty that our government will become a totalitarian style government and the people will become slaves instead of being citizens.

I urge everyone to call your local sheriff's office and ask the sheriff what his or her position on gun control or gun confiscation is. It is important to discuss this issue with your friends, neighbors, co-workers and family members and work together to get things done. If your sheriff is not a supporter of the Second Amendment then it may be a good idea to create a simple letter stating your sheriff's position that can be easily copied and passed out to other people in your neighborhood. The letter should encourage them to call the local sheriff's office and urge them to change his or her position on the Second Amendment and if he or she does not comply with the requests of the electorate then the people will be forced to replace him or her in the next election. Make sure you emphasize the importance of the issue. This is not a petty discussion on whether the speed limit of a road should be 25 or 35 it involves the protection of an inalienable human right. A right that if lost will cause every other protected inalienable right to be taken away and turn this country from a free Republic to a totalitarian communist state which should be considered detestable by anyone with any morals whatsoever. The time to take action is now. Do not be complacent with protecting your freedom. If you lose your freedom it will be nearly impossible to get it back without much blood shed and violence.

Constitution News

February 3, 2013
Jim Merritt

This news section will focus on issues directly related to the Constitution of the United States. It will cover proposed changes to the Constitution and violations of the Constitution. It will cover what is working and what is broken. It will also cover the Founder's view of it. This web site is committed to restoring the Constitution so it operates as a Republic and not a democracy. A democracy is best described as two wolves and a sheep voting on what is for dinner. Over the years the original structure of the Constitution has been changed which has caused many of our rights that were once protected to be taken away from us. Power is being consolidated at the federal level of government and the states are becoming little more than geographical locations on the map. We must restore the proper balance of power between the federal government and the states so that the people may enjoy the highest level of personal freedom that is humanly possible.

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