The Second Amendment has been around a long time, it was put into the Constitution to allow all Americans the right to keep and bear arms so that if the U.S. government became tyrannical, that the people could rise up against the government and take the country back. Many arguments are made that the Second Amendment was designed for weapons of that time and does not grow with technology. That argument just does not hold water. Our Constitution is a document that is like no other, it grants us the rights to live free and stay free despite what some who do not agree nor follow it to the letter believes. You have people from other countries telling us how we should interpret our own constitution and how we should ban, what they consider, “assault” weapons. These same people have no clue what an “assault” weapon is, as a matter of fact, they have no clue the difference in the terminology they use, nor how firearms actually work!

Any weapon can be called an “assault” weapon if used in an assault, however, the proper use of “assault” weapon is being misused when the anti-gun groups refer to AR-15s as “assault” weapons. The AR-15 is nothing more than a dressed up semi-automatic rifle. It can only shoot one time per trigger pull. But because it “LOOKS” like a military style rifle, they consider it an “assault” weapon! The AR-15 shoots no different than the common deer rifle, you can use the same sights to aim with, you can put different grips on it, and use many different magazine sizes. But it still only shoots one time per trigger pull. A true “assault” rifle would be considered a fully automatic weapon, or a weapon with a select fire (can select between semi-auto, three round burst or fully automatic). Now that you know the difference, we can move on.

First, here is a info-graphic from Michael Bloomberg’s anti-gun group who do not know the difference between a rifle shell and a bullet when it is fired.

They thought (and I use the term “thought” loosely) that the entire shell is propelled out of the rifle barrel. This kind of ignorance is dangerous, and completely inexcusable for a group who says they know what they are talking about!

Of course, it only gets worse when you have a United States Congresswoman who was a sponsor of a bill to ban high capacity magazines. She states that if you ban the magazines from being produced, that once all of the magazines in existence are emptied, that they will not be able to use them again. What is truly amazing is that the ignorance of this woman stating this was elected! Here the actual clip of her making the argument in all her glory!

Now that we have the common sense of the anti-gun folks out there, lets move on to our own common sense!

Common Sense use of the Second Amendment:

We as patriots, defenders of our Constitution, we have to bring our level of common sense above all others. We have to be able to make our argument, stick to it and not resort to the tactics of those who oppose us. So far, 99.9% of us are doing a great job at that. We can sit down and discuss the issue and make our case in a rational manner all the while watching the anti-gun crowd throw out misinformation, downright lies and of course as their last line of defense start cursing and calling us names.

There are a few who think it is ok to grab their AR-15s and try to make our standing on the issue a spectacle! One thing that we as defenders of the Second Amendment should do, is respect those who we are trying to convince that we are right. I am not talking about the respecting the anti-gun groups because they have their minds made up and they will not change their minds until they are in a situation where they are alone, attacked and have no way to defend themselves. Unfortunately, at that time, it may be too late for them!

Every time I go to town, when I am not working, I am carrying my handgun. During the times when the weather is cooler, it is much easier to conceal my weapon (yes, I have a conceal carry permit), but during the hot summer days it is harder to conceal because of the heat. I will either open carry or wear a light jacket. One time I was shopping in Wal-Mart and had a jacket on a person noticed I was carrying when I reached up to get something, my jacket lifted enough to see my handgun and they commented to the person who was with them, “Look at that, I hate that they can do that in public.”  They didn’t realize I heard them and I kept shopping like nothing happened.

But to walk around with a rifle strap across your back is a bit different, although legal, it sends the wrong message. It is not like having a rifle in a rack in your truck. a scabbard on your horse or even a six-shooter strap to your leg.  Carrying the rifle in shopping is a misunderstanding by others waiting to happen and the only reason you would do that in the first place is to draw attention to yourself and ask to be confronted. Are you within your rights? Yes! Is it smart to do that? No! What it actually does is make people feel more uneasy and does not change the minds of those sitting on the fence on the subject.

So lets say that people get used to seeing you carry your AR-15 into a store, you do it three or four times a week, even have your buddy come in with you carrying as well. The store knows you, trusts you, and in turn anyone who comes in with you. But one day someone comes in that is not there to be friendly and people ignore it, thinking that it is someone just like you and people die. Whose fault is that? Of course it is not your fault, it is the individual who pulled the trigger, but in some ways, you made it normal to see someone carrying a rifle in the open and therefore made the store complacent!

Now a handgun is different, for legal conceal carry individual, the handgun is smaller than a rifle and less intrusive, which means you will not draw as much attention to you as the full size rifle does. Handgun conceal carry or open carry law abiding citizens will carry so that if the need arises, they are ready to take action knowing that bad things can happen very quickly and they might be the only person there to save lives until the police arrive.  Criminals, on the other hand, will almost always conceal it until they begin using it. They won’t wear it in on a holster, more like they will have it in their belt, or in their hoody pocket to pull it out when they think that the place (or person) they are about to assault is at it’s most vulnerable moment.

So, what I am asking, what I am saying is, do NOT make it any harder to protect our Second Amendment Rights by making a spectacle out of yourselves. Use common sense when you are carrying. Be respectful where you are. Don’t be an “in your face” activist, that is not what we are about!  It is one thing to go down to an organized protest, where the point is to show you are able to carry rifles, but to walk into a place, such as the largest airport in the country and try to make your case is just stupid!

I follow the law, the constitution, believe in the Second Amendment and love my guns! I believe every law abiding citizen has the right to keep and bear arms without question. How we use that right, and how we conduct ourselves either strengthens our cause and rights, or in the case of the show-boaters gives ammo to the anti-gun crowd (pun intended)!