It surprises me that so many residents of New York City actually believe that what is enumerated as a right is actually a perquisite to be dispensed at the pleasure of the chief executive. The bill of rights specified that it was not created to grant rights, but to recognize rights that free men posses by the grace of God.
It saddens me that New Yorkers in general refuse to look at the rest of the United States and see that aside from the obvious constitutional argument, right to carry laws work. Although I frequently quote crime statistics and cite incidents when the innocent use a gun to defend against the criminal, the argument is not about numbers. it should never be about numbers. It is about your rights. You have the right to defend yourself against an attack, using violent and deadly force if need be. Whether a million lives are saved by citizens with concealed weapons every day, or whether it is but one life, it makes no difference. That one person's life is just as sacred to him as anyone else's.
It amazes me that so many people in New York have forgotten that the worst two mass murders in the United States happened in New York City, at the World Trade Center and the Happy Land Social Club, and neither crime involved a gun.
You’re assuming quite a bit, based on some questions I have asked, and a few statements. I’ll set you straight:
I never meant to imply that I (or anyone) haa to “earn” the right to bear arms by getting training. Rights are not earned. What I mean is, guns are serious, and that with the right to own one, also comes responsibility. Do you disagree? In my case, that means examing my own physical competence, my state of mind, and motives and my heart, deeply, and preparing myself for these responsibilities, fully and completely. Protecting one’s life has been a right from the very first man, but guns are particularly deadly.
If I did not know, for example, how to properly store, clean, load, unload, handle or fire a gun, I believe I would be an irresponsible gun owner. But I would really love to won a gun or two one day. So that’s what I meant.
By the way, I lived in rural Minnesota most of my life, where hunting was a big feature of daily life, and guns were never considered ‘scary’. I am not a gunphobe. I moved to New York eight years ago, love it here, but also view things very independently of the New York state of mind.
I have no argument about whether right to carry laws work or don’t work. Our rights should not be defined by what works and what doesn’t. Our rights are built into the fabric of the universe by God; the Constitution only recognizes that they are there, and dedicates itself to a form a government that upholds those rights. (Natural law vs. positive law.)