In a recent Steamboat Pilot newspaper article, it was reported that a man had allegedly made threats against a former politician and law enforcement. The man was subsequently arrested, had his firearms seized, and is currently awaiting his Fifth and 14th Amendment rights of due process. The tone of the article and the quote from the police chief seemed to me that many members of the community have already convicted this man of a crime of violence, yet he has not had his day in court in front of a jury of his peers. 

Now, I am not defending this man. I don’t know him from Adam. I will, however, defend every American’s constitutionally protected rights. On the surface, it appears that the guns and ammunition in his possession were completely legal, whether someone likes it or not.

The argument is being made all across the nation, in Congress and now in our own county that gun owners should be required to have a license to own a gun and purchase ammunition, the same as we have to possess a license to drive a car.

Nowhere in the Constitution is driving a car protected. Driving is a privilege, not a right. Keep in mind that our Constitution does not grant us rights. Instead, it protects us from the government stripping us of our natural rights that we are born with. Owning weapons is an inalienable right, and you don’t have to have a specific reason to do so.

“The right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”

Every single “sensible” gun law, red flag law, gun ban, magazine capacity limit, ghost gun ban, etc., written after the ratification of the Second Amendment on Dec. 15, 1791, is an infringement, and should be considered unconstitutional and null and void. It’s sad that Americans have let their rights be slowly chipped away. If you want certain types of arms to be banned, there is a process to amend the Constitution. 

An individual opinion on what is an “assault weapon,” or whether or not someone should own one, is only an opinion. I was born with a right to defend myself and those around me from the evil that exists in this world, and I will not forfeit that right until I breathe my last breath. You will not take my guns from me.

David More

Oak Creek