Are You Pro-Constitution?

I have been in the firearms industry since 2001, when I opened a small hunting and fly-fishing shop in Old Town Alexandria, VA named The Trophy Room.  It has been a few years since I closed my retail store, but I have stayed connected with the outdoor industry since then.  The story of The Trophy Room has been retold countless times.  Read about it here and here.

Having been formally trained and educated as an attorney, it pains me to see the recent attempts to trample on the U.S. Constitution.  Now most would interpret that as another pro-gun person discussing the 2^nd Amendment.  However, that is not what I mean.  What I see is a blatant attack on every other provision of the Constitution from the right to free speech and freedom of religion contained in the 1^st Amendment to the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures contained in the 4^th Amendment, to the right to a speedy trial contained in the 6^th Amendment.  I could go on and on, but make no mistake, the first line of defense of the U.S. Constitution is under attack.

If you were a foreign power and you wanted to conquer the United States, the first thing you would do is strike at the U.S. military.  Why?  Because the U.S. military is charged with protecting the United States.  It is the first and the most powerful line of defense for the United States.  Without the U.S. military, the country would be virtually defenseless.

In a similar manner, the 2^nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is charged with protecting all the other provisions of the Constitution.  Not from a foreign conqueror but from our own U.S. Government.  Without the 2^nd Amendment, the rest of the provisions in the Constitution are virtually defenseless.

It is pretty widely agreed that the 2^nd Amendment of the Constitution was included by our Founding Fathers for at least a couple of purposes.  One very important purpose was to allow the overthrow of the government should the government ever become oppressive.  How that would be accomplished is what is really being debated, namely whether it would be state militias or the actual people banding together.  What does that mean?  It means that when the government goes too far in taking away our free speech rights or invades our homes for no reason or locks us up without the right to a speedy and fair trial, or infringes on our right to vote, the people, most likely by banding together, have the ability to take back the country from the oppressive few.

Do I believe this will ever happen on a National scale?  Well, it has happened on a local scale as recently as 2005.  However, my individual opinion as to whether the people will ever need to overthrow the government and, by necessity, my opinion on the current need for the 2^nd Amendment does not matter.  What matters is whether the people, as a whole, believe the 2^nd Amendment protections are still needed.

And luckily for the people, our Founding Fathers were very intelligent individuals.  Because of their keen sense, they were smart enough to include a provision in the U.S. Constitution that provides the procedures for amending the Constitution.  So, the current battles in Congress over whether to ban firearms or firearm accessories comes down to whether or not the people of the United States, and their elected representatives, are pro-U.S. Constitution or anti-U.S. Constitution?  Do the people believe in free speech, freedom of religion, the right to vote, or the right to be free from discrimination or do they believe that the U.S. Constitution can be amended to remove these rights by the will of a small group of politicians?

That is what this Blog is about.