Redstate

By iconoclast Posted in Republicans — Comments (0) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

I read a lot of content here, but I don't post much because, frankly, I'm not as savvy about political issues as most of you folks here are.

However, after watching Colbert's recent satire on anti-gun control activism, I feel the need to make a comment.

I'm tired of hearing weak arguments against gun control that portray the Republican party as a bunch of hicks constantly wanting to relive the days of the Wild West. I think that, on most issues, Republicans make very good arguments to support their claims. Which is why I am a Republican. As far as gun control goes, though, I have long been very disappointed.

We talk about hunting as if it matters. But it doesn't.

Quite frankly, I don't care if you have the ability to kill animals for fun. I am not morally opposed to killing animals for food, but I don't understand why so many people are so obsessive about being able to do it for sport. What American family lives off of squirrels and possums these days anyway?

I grew up on a dirt road in rural Texas. My family always had fire arms, because that is how good Republicans in Texas are. Other than killing a few snakes around the house, though, I have never shot any living thing with a gun. And, unless it's a person or an animal posing a very real threat against me or someone I care about, I don't feel any desire to do so.

The way we often make our argument, the Democrats are led to look at the issue simply as the question between the right to hunt and the prevention of all those accidental injuries and deaths. Frankly, if it were that simple, I would be on the side of the Democrats.

Crime prevention is another argument we often use. I do think that this one is valid, but this is an issue where you can throw around statistics back and forth all day and no one is convinced of anything.

No, the real issue is this:

The founding fathers thought the right to bear arms was necessary because they realized that this is the ultimate insurance for the continuation of republican government. Would-be tyrants in the United States--and foreign invaders--need to be forced to reckon with the American populous as a whole. THAT is why we need to be able to own firearms. And not guns just for hunting, either, but pistols, assault rifles, etc. It presents the final word regarding who holds the reins of power in this country.

So please, let's stop giving the Democrats ammunition by obsessing on our right to hunt. Because the right to hunt was never important enough to amend the Constitution for.