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Recently while taking my daily walk a vehicle stopped and a person who was not identifiable to me stopped and the voice inside said:

When are you gonna write another editorial?

The paper is boring.

I like your editorials.

While I did recognize the person, the poetic phrasing and the Irish lilt in the voice suggested identification.

I began my response to this lyrical request by commenting on the recent Aiken Standard coverage of people that represent us on County and City Council and the school board. Each individuals goals for their respective organization were published. My theme was going to be the need for a common focus for each organization to effectively deal with the plethora of objectives voiced by our elected officials. Since then the paper published an assortment of opinions on a major menace to our society gun control.

In past letters I have explained that I believed that our fundamental impediment to effectively dealing with the gun issue is our interpretation of the Second Amendment of our Constitution. In this case I will explain why I believe it.

I will begin with the wording of the Second Amendment. It states in part:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State...

This first phrase states the purpose of the amendment. Clearly this is about militias. The second phrase of this amendment states:

...the right of people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Clearly these arms are to support the militias.

I have formed my opinion, based on historical study, that this amendment was all about the safety of the newly formed country and had nothing to do with individual safety. A brief description of my reasoning follows:

The Founders did, indeed, jeopardize their lives, fortunes and sacred honors when they broke with England.

The only means available to them for self-preservation was the various Colonial militias.

The source of arms for those militias tended to be the individual militia members.

Survival of the founders and our new country was dependent on those militias and the arms that supported them.

Nothing in my reading of history suggests that this amendment was created for protection of the individual.

The 10th Amendment states, The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

A population not intimidated by Second Amendment threats can deal with this issue.

It is my thesis that we have had our understanding of the Second Amendment dictated to us by others. If individuals study the history of this situation and each arrive at an informed opinion, perhaps my thesis will be supported by a critical mass of the population. If so, perhaps we can begin to create state and local legislation to effectively deal with this issue.

To my lyrical fan club of one: This is my response to your request.

Ronald L. Feller

Aiken

Continue reading here:
Letter: Interpreting the Second Amendment (483) | Opinions and Editorials - Aiken Standard

STILLWATER - The Township Committee will discuss its own version of a resolution of support for residents Second Amendment rights during its Tuesday meeting.

The meeting is at 7 p.m. at the municipal building, 964 Stillwater Road.

The resolution is being brought before the five-member committee by Committeeman George Scott, who is serving this year as deputy mayor.

I wanted to get this done earlier, he said of getting the resolution on the committees agenda, but were also in the middle of the (2020) budget and with the holidays. Its something I started and wanted to see through.

In December, Assemblyman Parker Space, R-24th District, which includes all of Sussex County and the northern part of Warren County, presented suggested resolution language which he said was taken from similar measures being passed in parts of Florida and Virginia.

Some of the language from those states, which used the term sanctuary, has been altered to include strong support for private citizens to own and use firearms.

If Stillwater approves its resolution, the committee will be the fourth governing body in Sussex County to act on similar resolutions. Previously the borough councils in Sussex Borough, Branchville and Franklin approved resolutions. Last month, the West Milford Township Council became the first municipality in the state in recent memory to approve a resolution on the Second Amendment.

The Second Amendment is part of the Bill of Rights approved as the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution in 1791. The amendment reads: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." and the intended meaning has been subject of debate and U.S. Supreme Court cases, usually over local or state laws regulating who can own or possess what type of firearm.

I think I got everybody to get on board with this, Scott said of the Township Committee, and the feedback Im getting seems to be that citizens are really up for it.

Scott said he personally owns several types of firearms and goes hunting in Maine and Pennsylvania where rifles are allowed.

He is a certified hunter safety instructor in New Jersey and describes himself as a big advocate for safety. I think everyone over 10 years old should be taught how to safely use a gun.

The deputy mayor said hed like to see a full audience at Tuesdays meeting so we can have a full discussion on what this all means.

Read more from the original source:
Stillwater Committee to vote on 2nd Amendment resolution - New Jersey Herald

WINCHESTER Stating they have already sworn to uphold and protect the constitution, members of Winchester's City Council on Tuesday voted against adopting a resolution that would pledge to uphold local residents' right to own guns.

Since November, tens of thousands of Virginians have been asking their local government leaders to designate localities as Second Amendment sanctuaries because they believe proposed new laws being considered by the Democrat-controlled General Assembly in Richmond would infringe on their right to buy guns for legal purposes, such as hunting or self-protection.

Government leaders in 130 of the state's counties, cities and towns including Frederick County, Clarke County and Berryvillehave adopted resolutions in support of gun rights.

Only 11 municipalities in Virginia, including Winchester, have voted against a resolution or declined to take action on one.

Local supporters of Second Amendment sanctuaries turned out in large numbers at Winchester City Council meetings in November and December. Anticipating an even greater number of people at Tuesday's work session, officials moved the meeting from council chambers in Rouss City Hall to the auditorium at John Kerr Elementary School.

As it turned out, only about 50 people attended, and about a third of them were there to oppose the creation of a Second Amendment resolution.

"None of these proposed laws infringe on the Second Amendment rights of anyone," resolution opponent Ann Bacon of Winchester said to a smattering of applause from the audience.

"Are we suggesting that people disobey the law because we're a sanctuary city? That seems dangerous," Bill Fuller of Winchester said.

Those who support Second Amendment sanctuaries argued that guns keep communities safe.

"If we legal gun owners are such a danger to society, why have these meetings been so peaceful?" asked Mark Stickley of Winchester.

"It is our right to protect ourselves," Jennifer Turman Bayliss of Winchester said.

Brandon Angel of Winchester said Virginians won't stand for having their Second Amendment rights trampled by what he considers unconstitutional changes to existing gun laws.

"There is going to be blood shed on both sides," Angel said. "People will rebel."

The nine members of City Council five Democrats and four Republicans said they would not support becoming a sanctuary city, but they did consider a proposal to proclaim Winchester a city that respects and defends the constitutions and bills of rights of the United States and Virginia.

"It doesn't require asking our administrators and law enforcement to ignore laws," Councilor John Willingham, a Republican, said about his motion to make Winchester a so-called constitutional city that supports the Second Amendment, following an example set by Virginia Beach on Jan. 6.

"I work every day with children," Democratic Councilor Judy McKiernan, an administrator with Winchester Public Schools, said during Tuesday's work session. "Are we ready to tell them, 'I don't like that rule, so I'm not going to follow it'?"

Several councilors, including Democrat Kim Herbstritt and Republican Bill Wiley, said a resolution pledging to uphold constitutional laws would be redundant because, when council members were sworn into office, they swore to do just that.

"We're bound by that oath," Wiley said.

Republican Councilor Les Veach said he would go along with the constitutional city resolution if it included a line calling on Richmond to fund enforcement of any new gun regulations.

"The unfunded mandates we get from the state have a crippling effect on us," Veach said.

Mayor David Smith, a Democrat, said he grew up in a rough neighborhood where his mother was once shot, but he opposed the resolution because of what it could do to Winchester's economy if businesses and tourists start avoiding the city due to its perceived advocacy for gun ownership.

"Once you start putting labels on yourself," Smith said, "you discourage people from coming to the city."

Although all nine councilors rejected the idea of making Winchester a sanctuary city, the four Republican members still supported a constitutional city resolution. However, none of the five Democrats were willing to support the measure, which brought an end to the discussion.

Wiley told audience members that a resolution would be a moot point anyway because Winchester cannot create gun laws.

"The people who are legislating [in Richmond] are the ones who should be hearing this," he said.

Attending Tuesday night's City Council work session at John Kerr Elementary School were Mayor and council President David Smith, Vice Mayor John Hill, Vice President Evan Clark and councilors John Willingham, Kim Herbstritt, Les Veach, Judy McKiernan, Bill Wiley and Corey Sullivan.

Excerpt from:
City Council: 2nd Amendment resolution unnecessary - The Winchester Star

Gun rights are often portrayed as a conservative issue by many who oversimplify the issue as if only Republicans in America care about preserving the constitutional right to bear arms.

Monday's large pro-gun rights demonstration in Richmond, Virginia, provides another example. The event has been framed as a right-wing protest. But, gun rights are not an inherently political issue, and many on the left who oppose almost everything Republicans stand for will also stand up to defend the Second Amendment. Here are a few:

J.M. Giordano/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

All Antifa groups are not created equal. But some of them, including in Virginia, are extremely pro-Second Amendment. Members of Richmond's Antifa Seven Hills rallied alongside conservative gun rights advocates Monday at the State Capitol.

"This is our fight as much as anyone else's," sad Antifa member James, according to Vice News. "It's our state, and we are left largely out of the debate. The presence of an armed left is not discussed, it's not understood."

While it is actively opposed to conservative gun rights advocacy, which it believes is racist and non-inclusive, the Socialist Rifle Association is a national organization that seeks to equip and train people to use firearms safely for self-defense, and advocates for marginalized groups to have legal access to guns. It opposes gun control laws on the grounds that they are often enforced more severely against minorities.

"We seek to provide a safe, inclusive, and left-leaning platform for talking about gun rights and self defense, free from racist and reactionary prejudices, while providing a platform for the working class to obtain the skills necessary for all aspects of community defense," the SRA website reads.

NRA certified instructor and founder of the Florida faction of Pink Pistols Jo Martin holding a pink gun, on December 11, 2016 in Orlando, Florida. (Francisco Hidalgo/BarcroftImages / Barcroft Media via Getty Images)

The Pink Pistols is an organization that focuses on arming members of the LGBTQ community in order to break the stigma that LGBTQ people are easy targets for violent criminals. By arming more members of the community, the group believes, they will be protected if they are attacked, and eventually, attempts to attack them will be less frequent.

"Armed queers don't get bashed," The Pink Pistols' website reads. "We change the public perception of the sexual minorities, such that those who have in the past perceived them as safe targets for violence and hateful actsbeatings, assaults, rapes, murderswill realize that that now, a segment of the sexual minority population is now armed and effective with those arms. Those arms are also concealed, so they do not know which ones are safe to attack, and which are notwhich they can harm as they have in the past, and which may draw a weapon and fight back."

Image source: CBS This Morning video screenshot

It might not be accurate to classify this organization as a "liberal" gun organization, as its mission is not overtly political in a way that would exclude or discourage a conservative from joining. If anything, NAAGA is somewhat apolitical right now, as a pro-Second Amendment group seeking to arm African Americans legally and create an environment in which it is not dangerous for a black man or woman to carry a gun due to racial stereotypes or biases. The group has recently been grappling with what its inevitable political aspects will look like in the future.

"The long-term goal of the National African American Gun Association is to have every African American introduced to firearm use for home protection, competitive shooting, and outdoor recreational activities," the NAAGA website reads. "We welcome people of all religious, political, social, and racial backgrounds. We especially welcome African American members of law enforcement and active retired military."

Lara Smith, president of the California chapter of the Liberal Gun Club. (Image source: ABC News video screenshot)

The Liberal Gun Club has been described as a "gun-filled safe space" for liberal gun enthusiasts who are put off by the conservative political ideology that is associated with groups like the National Rifle Association.

"The mission of The Liberal Gun Club is to provide a voice for gun-owning liberals and moderates in the national conversation on gun rights, gun legislation, firearms safety, and shooting sports," the group's website reads.

See the original post here:
Five liberal pro-gun groups that prove that protecting the 2nd Amendment isn't just a conservative priority - TheBlaze

A live shot for MSNBC reporter Gabe Gutierrez on Monday went sideways when a heckler started blasting him with obscenities at a gun rights rally in Richmond, Virginia.

Yall a bunch of fing liars, you lying pieces of s f you! a bearded man, resembling a skinny mall Santa, yelled in the background as Gutierrez signed off.

MSNBC anchor Hallie Jackson quickly apologized for the background noise viewers heard.

Also Read: Alex Jones Crashes DC Women's March, Chants 'Down With Trump!' With a Bullhorn

The Washington Examiner grabbed a look at the brief interruption, which you can check out below:

Thousands are expected to turn out on Monday for an annual gun rights rally in Virginias capitol that carries more weight than usual this year, with the state legislature proposing several gun control measures. The event typically draws hundreds of attendees each year, according to NBC News.

Also Read: Hillary Clinton Fears 4 More Years of Trump: 'Lord Knows What Will Happen'

President Trump appeared to be keeping an eye on the rally on Monday, tweeting: The Democrat Party in the Great Commonwealth of Virginia are working hard to take away your 2nd Amendment rights. This is just the beginning. Dont let it happen, VOTE REPUBLICAN in 2020!

Attendees recited the Second Amendment together at the event, while some walked around carrying firearms and wearing Guns Save Lives stickers, according to Fox News.

Read this article:
F You! MSNBC Reporter Heckled at 2nd Amendment Rally - TheWrap