National Day of Protest

So, today is Reverend Jesse Jackson's National Day of Gun Protest and, conversely gun owners are marking the occasion with their National Day of Gun/Ammo Purchasing. While I've seen the Reverends protest labeled as 'against guns' and 'against illegal gun trafficking', I wanted to do a point and counterpoint to some of the article's statements:

RJJ: “We have the right to live safe and secure, no matter where we live in America.”
Me: Agreed, though definitions may vary. I'd like to live safe and secure, but knowing that there will always be criminals on the streets, I also want to be prepared.

RJJ: “Our marching does not kill people; people who buy guns from gun shops kill people.”
Me: Agreed. So, why fight against the guns?

RJJ: "We choose life over death, and we want to close down merchants of death.”
Me: Tobacco? Fast Food? The DMV?

RJJ: He favors tighter restrictions on who is allowed to buy guns, better background checks, longer waiting periods for gun purchases, and restrictions on how many guns an individual may buy within a calendar period.
ME: People who've been institutionalized or convicted of a felony may not. Citizens/nationals of the US (generally 18+ or 21+) are allowed. When I purchased my handgun, I had a state *and* federal background check done. Restricting commerce of any type is really just a bad thing for the economy in general.

A large part of this is, I'm sure, in response to the Newark, NJ slayings and, while a small part of me is all for 'protecting the lives of America', it keeps coming back to the fact that if one or all of those four college students were armed and lawfully carrying:

1. They would have had a fighting chance to live.
2. Their assailants might've been deterred in the first place.They would have a choice.

Now, granted -- I'm all for the punishment of illegal gun trafficking. Jose Carranza, one of the suspects from the shooting, is an illegal immigrant from Peru. Considering background checks are done, I can almost guarantee you that he didn't get his gun legally.

There's a reason why the Bill of Rights covers this topic -- this freedom... this protected right was put into place to prevent misconstruction or abuse of the government by infringing into the lives of the people who put this political system into place.

At one point in my life, I wasn't pro-gun... I probably wasn't anti-gun as much as I was ambivalent about the whole thing, but, having purchase a firearm, gone through the checks, have undergone training, knowing I'm a responsible person and that I can be prepared to protect my children and wife if need be is something I don't want to give up.

I think I'll try to hit the Walmart before I start teaching tonight to pick up a box of ammo.

Amendment II: 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.

Amendment IV: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Edit: Mission Accomplished...