WHAT THE SECOND AMENDMENT MEANS
Good afternoon, and thank you for coming. It
would appear I don't stand alone. (Rick brandishes a
"Star Wars" toy gun.) This
is what Denver will allow me to defend myself with. (Rick
shoots rubber flying discs at the crowd. The crowd rolls
on the ground with hilarity, and roars its approval.)
My name is Rick Stanley. I'm a Libertarian
candidate for the office of United States Senator. I'm
here today to celebrate the 210th anniversary
of the ratification of the Bill of Rights. More
specifically, I want to tell you what the Second
Amendment means to me, and, more importantly, what it
means to America. I want to discuss the many ways in
which our sitting government is destroying the Second
Amendment. And I want to tell you what you can do to
restore our Second Amendment rights.
The Bill of Rights is the crown jewel in the
Constitution of the United States. And the Second
Amendment is the linchpin of the Bill of Rights. The
Second Amendment says, "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."
Why did our forefathers add this provision
to the Constitution? Well, they had direct experience
with a tyrannical government. Just eight years before the
Bill of Rights was ratified they had concluded peace with
Great Britain, successfully ending their seven-year War
for Independence. To understand the Constitution, and the
Bill of Rights, we must remember the basic political
philosophy on which our nation was founded. That
philosophy is set out brilliantly in the Declaration of
Independence. I’m sure those stirring words are
familiar to all of you.
"We hold
these truths to be self-evident, that all men are
created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator
with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are
Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That, to
secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among
Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of
the governed. That whenever any Form of Government
becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of
the People to alter or to abolish it, and to
institute new Government, laying its foundation on
such principles and organizing its powers in such
form, as to them shall seem most likely to secure
their Safety and Happiness."
Now it should be obvious that the
people’s right to alter or abolish a government that
has become destructive of its basic ends would not mean
much if the people didn’t actually have the means to
carry out the alteration. In other words, the Declaration
of Independence wouldn't really say much without the
Second Amendment. The people have the right to alter or
abolish their government. And the people have another
right -- to keep and bear arms. These two rights are
essentially the same thing. The founding fathers knew
this. When they wrote the Constitution, they hoped the
government they were framing would always remain true to
the purposes for which it had been instituted. But they
had studied history, and they were wise, so they knew it
was very likely that the government of the United States
would become onerous and oppressive at some time in the
future. Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness were,
to them, the most important possessions anyone can hold.
And so they very wisely included the Second Amendment in
the Bill of Rights. They hoped that their descendants
would never again be forced to overthrow an evil
government. But they knew it might happen, so they
inserted an escape clause in our Bill of Rights.
Today, 210 years after the Bill of Rights
became part of the Constitution, the Second Amendment is
in tatters. Let's stop and think, for a moment, of the
many ways in which this current unconstitutional
government has infringed our right to keep and bear arms.
- Counting state, local, and
federal laws and regulations, there are now over
20,000 separate rules regulating the use,
possession, and transfer of firearms. Most of
those rules are patent infringements of this most
basic human right, to keep and bear arms in
self-defense.
- The federal government has
adopted many laws which violate the Second
Amendment. Automatic weapons are subject to a
special tax. People who want to buy or sell guns
are required to ask for permission. Guns with
large magazines are prohibited. Every one of
these restrictions is an infringement of your
right to keep and bear arms.
- Federal law also includes
prohibitions against certain kinds of ammunition.
Specifically, "armor-piercing" bullets
are illegal. Guns with very short barrels are
also illegal. The net effect? The very types of
guns and ammunition the American people must have
to defend our country against a self-proclaimed
military dictator are not freely available. But
they should be! And they must be, if freedom is
to endure.
- State and local laws in many
jurisdictions prohibit concealed carry. People
who wish to carry a concealed weapon are required
to obtain a license, or permit. In many cities
these licenses are never issued. People can apply
for them, but the government won’t issue
them.
The Second Amendment does not say that people can
apply for permission to keep and bear arms. It
says that you have the right to keep and
bear arms. It does not say "except for
concealed weapons." It says that you have
the right to bear arms. It’s your
right, and so it must be your choice. You -- not
the government -- can decide what kind of gun you
need, and when you need it, and how you want to
carry it. As long as you use it only for lawful
purposes -- for self-defense -- the government
has absolutely no lawful authority to restrict
your Second Amendment right.
- Here in Denver the city
council has adopted a particularly odious piece
of legislation known as Chapter 38-117.5(b) of
the Revised Municipal Code. This unconstitutional
piece of garbage says that citizens are not
allowed to bear arms within the city limits. The
traitors on the city council passed this
ordinance even though they knew all about the
Second Amendment. They knew all about Article II,
Section 13 of the constitution of Colorado, which
says, "The right of no person to
keep and bear arms in defense of his home,
person, and property, ... shall be called in
question."
Why did they pass this unconstitutional
ordinance? Because they don’t care about
you, or your rights, or the Constitution. They
only care about power over other people –
obtaining it, extending it, and grasping it. They
want to run your life. And they know that you
might resist them if you have a gun. They’re
not ready to say you can’t even own a gun.
Not yet. But they do say that you can’t
carry it with you. Small steps. Infringements.
Tyranny -- an inch at a time.
Unlike the Denver city council, I care about
the Constitution. I believe that your rights, and my
rights, and everybody's rights, are important. An
unconstitutional enactment is not a law. Today I am
challenging this unconstitutional ordinance by violating
it deliberately and peacefully. But before I do that and
the Denver police take me into custody, I want to tell
you what you can do to make the Second Amendment a
living, breathing reality once again.
- Elect Libertarians to public
office. If you're not registered to vote, go out
and register. Vote for Libertarians every chance
you get. They're all about defending the
Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
- Join my campaign team. I am a
candidate for the office of U.S. Senator. The
election will be held next November. My campaign
team is already hard at work. But it’s
pitifully small, and under-funded. Join my team,
and help elect me to the U.S. Senate so I can
start fighting for your rights at the federal
level. You can talk to David Bryant or Michelle
Konieczny – they’re here today. Or
visit my web site the next time you’re
online: www.stanley2002.org.
- Help spread the word about
what has happened here today all across America.
I am issuing a public call for monthly public
demonstrations in support of the Bill of Rights.
The Second American Revolution has already begun.
It is time to spread it to every state in
America.
Today I am taking a stand against an
unconstitutional city ordinance. There are
thousands of unconstitutional laws on the books
today. Now is the time to force their repeal. We
need to hold another rally here in Denver in
January, and in February, and every month after
that, until all the unconstitutional laws have
been repealed. And we can't just do it in Denver.
We need support in this effort from people all
across the country.
I am calling upon citizens all across America to
join the Second American Revolution. Organize a
rally in your hometown. Set one up in the capital
city of your state. Speak out against all the
unconstitutional laws this sitting government has
enacted. And don't stop there. Do it again, and
again, and again -- until all the
unconstitutional laws have been repealed.
When these rallies are happening regularly, in
every capital city of every state in America, the
politicians will have to sit up and listen. They
know they have been passing unconstitutional
laws. They don’t want to listen when
Libertarians say that what they're doing is
wrong. Well, dammit, the time for whispering is
behind us. We have got to shout our message from
the rooftops, before it's too late. If we
don’t act now, our last best chance to
preserve liberty in America will be lost. Do not
let that happen!
- I know that there are many
militia groups in America. The politicians and
their media lapdogs have been poking fun at them
for years. You militia members deserve respect.
You know more about the Second Amendment, and
what it truly means, than all the politicians
inside the Beltway put together.
It is time for all the militia groups in America
to band together. The battle for liberty can
still be won with ballots, not bullets. But the
danger is imminent. The recently enacted
"Patriot Act" is a direct assault upon
the entire Bill of Rights. The traitors in
Washington are getting bolder. We must be ready
to defend our liberty with all the force at our
command, if they push it that far.
I’m calling out today for the formation of a
new Second American Revolution militia, to
embrace all the militias across America.
I've already read you part of the
Declaration of Independence -- the most familiar part.
Now I’d like to read the next two sentences, the
part the politicians want you to forget about.
"Prudence,
indeed, will dictate that Governments long
established should not be changed for light and
transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath
shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer,
while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves
by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.
But when a long train of abuses and usurpations,
pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a design
to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their
right, it is their duty, to throw off such
Government, and to provide new Guards for their
future security."
Think about the "Patriot Act."
Think about the thousands of unconstitutional laws this
sitting government has enacted. It is a long train of
abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same
Object: to reduce you, and me, and all Americans, under
absolute Despotism.
It is our right, it is our duty, to throw
off this unconstitutional government. I’m ready to
do my duty. Are you?
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