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America’s tradition of gun ownership runs deep

Visiting the National Museum of American History in Washington, DC, over the weekend, it was tough not to wonder how anti-gun activists get their ideas.

Displays at the museum about the 1750s French and Indian War, and the 1775-1783 American War of Independence, have an awful lot of individually owned, military-grade firearms on display.

On April 19, 1775, after the American militia faced off against the professional British soldiers in Lexington, Massachusetts, and after they fired on the long British retreat back to Boston, a British commander wrote “Whoever looks upon them [the American militia] as an irregular mob will find himself much mistaken, as they have men amongst them who know very well what they are about.”

Meaning, the American militia men were darned good shots, brave, and thoughtful about tactics.  Those privately owned rifles created the personal freedoms and liberty that American citizens now take for granted and which are the goal of would-be immigrants the world over.

Today, the American tradition of personally owning firearms that the government has neither approved nor knows about lives on among about 100 million citizens.  It is the ultimate liberty, and we will not give it up.  Nor will we allow government bureaucrats to watch us, monitor us, and decide for us if we should or should not own guns.  The Second Amendment means what it says: “Shall not be infringed.”

Which is why I wonder why one political party has made gun control such a singular goal.  It is an increasingly loser political issue, with little to no return on investment.  If that one political party would give up on this one issue, they would be a lot more successful.  I should know, because the spirit of Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill lives on among so many Americans.  How others are missing that spirit makes you wonder if they really understand what America is all about.

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