From My Cold, Dead Hands!

"From My Cold, Dead Hands!"

When anyone mentions "gun control," it makes me cringe with disbelief. It is impossible for me to understand why people want to (and might some day) take away my right to gun ownership. They defend their cases by using examples of school shootings and gang violence; this is unremarkably insane to me. The idea that today's politicians could change the laws of our great land by using the examples of a few misguided youngsters brings back into view other leaders who have done the same. Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, Idi Amin, Mao Tse-tung, and Pol Pot were powerful tyrants. After taking power, these men took all guns from the civilian population. Our own government has been taking the necessary steps to abolish the second amendment. Owning a gun is a right not a privilege. We, as citizens, have to protect our rights to gun ownership so we can protect ourselves if necessary.

James Madison, stated, "I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." (http://www.kc3.com/editorial/freedom_or_gun_control.htm)

Changes are made slowly so that the general population doesn't notice what is happening until the changes are made. For instance, Lenin started out his carrier with everyone looking at him as a great respectable leader. But, over the 6 years of Lenin's dictatorship more and more evidence of his cruelty emerged. Most people of his time still believed the notion of the "good Lenin" and the "bad Stalin." When in reality few of Stalin's policies were without roots in Leninism: Lenin built the first concentration camps; Lenin, who disbanded the last vestige of democratic government, the Constituent Assembly, devised the Communist Party as the apex of a totalitarian structure; Lenin, who first waged war on the intelligentsia and on religious believers, wiped out any traces of civil liberty and a free press. In his short reign, from 1917 until his death in 1924, Lenin created a model not merely for his successor, Stalin, but for Mao tse-tung, Hitler, and Pol Pot; three of the worst tyrants the world has ever seen. (Remnick, http://www.time.com/time/time100/leaders/profile/lenin.html)

Thomas Jefferson once stated, "When the people fear the government you have tyranny... when the government fears the people you have liberty." (http://www.chvanilla.net/frogquotes.html)

Tyranny, it has happened before and will happen again. It is up to us to take a stand, to hold the government back. Charleton Heston is a great example of one who has taken that challenge. As president of the National Rifle Association, he has continually worked to assure our freedom from tyranny by securing our ability to own guns. Heston's dedication to this cause was shown when he raised a rifle above his head and yelled, "From my cold, dead hands!" (http://www.newsmax.com/articles/?a=2000/5/21/165857)

Bill Twist's, From My Cold, Dead Hands, discusses the reasoning behind this great statement. "It is a direct reference to those who gave up their lives so that we could have freedom. And while we have grown as a nation, that spirit is alive and well today, as it was that spring day of April 19th, 1775, when poor farmers and tradesman stood their ground against the might of their own government.

Why did they stand up to the British troops at Lexington and Concord? The answer is rather simple. The duly appointed government was going to take away their arms and ammunition. In other words, they fought because of gun control. While there were numerous underlying causes to the War of Independence, gun control provided the spark that exploded into this great nation. Those farmers were resisting the confiscation of their best guarantee against tyranny, and they knew it." (http://216.117.156.23/features/barrel_twist/2000/may/dead.shtml)

During the time that Lenin, Stalin, Mao tse-tung, Hitler, and Pol Pot walked the earth, people lived in fear. Fear isn't something that happens in an instant; it's something that takes years to instill while nurturing it along the way. Why was it that the Jews allowed Hitler's solders to corral them like animals and to lie them down by the thousands in mass graves, just to shoot them in the back of the head when the number of Jews to soldiers was over a thousand to one? Why didn't they fight back? They would have undoubtedly been victorious in many instances. The reason was fear. Not a fear that Hitler had instilled in them, but a fear that had started with Lenin moving on to Stalin and finally aiding Hitler in his quest for supremacy. As a nation, we must not fear the government, but make sure that the government fears us and then look forward to liberty and justice for all. (Remnick, http://www.time.com/time/time100/leaders/profile/lenin.html)

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis, 1928 stated "Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the government's purposes are beneficent. Men born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasion of their liberty by evil-minded rulers. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding." Men have and will continue to inact laws in their best interest without looking at the issue or at the consequences of their actions. (http://www.treachery.net/~jdyson/gun_quotes.html)

As parents we must teach our children the importance of gun safety so that politicians can't find reasons to inact laws that lead to tyranny. Since day-one my father instilled in me a respect for firearms. He taught me that by using them properly we could have fun and be protected at the same time. By allowing me to handle his guns and never making them a secret, I never had a desire to seek them out without proper reason. Unlike most cases I hear of where a parent hides their guns and the child sneaks around to see what it is. This leads to accidental shootings that could have been prevented with proper education.

Guns have been a passion of mine ever since I can remember. From the black Ruger .22 I learned to shoot with, to the assortment of guns that I own today. My first gun was a Red Rider BB gun that I got when I was 7 yrs old. I must have gone on over a hundred hunting trips down to the river bottoms. But with me being only seven and the gun of such a wimpy stature, I assure you, no one or thing was in danger.

By the age of 11 I felt that I was ready for more than just a BB gun and to my surprise I guess my parents did also because they gave me a Benjamin Air Rifle. Instantly I became the talk of the town