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Paw Print Collingswood High School Collingswood, NJ
Issue Date: Friday, May 27, 2011 Issue: May 2011 Last Update: Wednesday, June 08, 2011
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At-a-glance

The Right to Bear Arms
- Gary Ertz
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The right to bear arms has been one of the most controversial subjects of our time. The idea of gun control is absolutely idiotic. If you disarm the law abiding citizen, it only makes it that much easier for the criminal to successfully complete his crime. I am surprised this is really a debate at this point. Throughout history, proven through facts, promised by the constitution, as Americans we have the right to carry weapons.

The main reason the second amendment became ratified into the Constitution was for the people to be allowed the right to overthrow their government if it became oppressive. What chance do you think the citizens of America could possibly stand against today’s modern United States army? If you simply acknowledge the facts, use your common knowledge, and read the constitution, then maybe you will become as infuriated as I am to hear about how taking guns “off the streets” makes life safer.

Whether people choose to believe they are part of some greater society, where armed police and professional military personnel take precedence over protecting its citizens, does not mean that citizens must give up their constitutional right to protect themselves. Throughout history, when arms are taken away, tragedy ensues.

Take a look at Nazi Germany, the catalyst that allowed all other rights thereafter to be stripped from the Jews, began with its Regulations Against Jew’s Possession of Firearms. After the Nazis had risen to power, they began disarming the Jewish populace, making it easier to wipe out their existence. Upon the introduction of gun control in the Soviet Union, in 1929, the Stalinist regime coincidentally rose to power. Then there is the birth of the United States. In the initial revolutionary battles at Lexington and Concord, the “shot heard ‘round the world” was initially fired because General Gage was ordered to disarm the populace.

There is no end to the facts in favor of guns rights. Law after law has been passed in various states to try and keep a tighter control on the distribution of handguns, however politicians cannot seem to grasp that the only people that adhere to these policies are the law abiding citizens who were doing no harm in the first place.

In 1966, New Jersey enacted what was, at the time, the most stringent gun law. Two years after the law was enacted, the robbery rate nearly doubled, and the murder rate rose by over 46 percent. In 2003, The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Report listed the top ten cities with highest violent crime rates; of those ten, three of the cities were from New Jersey. So you would think by now, 2010, the great state of New Jersey would have seen the light…right?

 In June of 2009, a new gun restriction was added to the bevy of those that already existing. The new law institutes that only one gun per month can be purchased by a law abiding citizen, in New Jersey. Special clauses were added to exempt both gun collectors and store owners from this restriction. Not only does this restriction again strip the rights of the citizens of New Jersey, it also makes it that much easier for criminals to prevail.

Yet another Orwellian tactic was instituted by liberal New Jersey. How much farther do our legislators really plan to restrict our right to acquire a means of protection? How much longer will New Jersey citizens allow politicians to strip us of our rights? Get up, stand up, stand up for your rights- Bob Marley


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9 COMMENTS - Add your comment below

3/4/2010 11:22:46 AM by Seth    
Truly wonderous mr. Spratt. It is times like these that i think that all of america has lost it's sense of freedom. I can only hope that their are more people left in this world that shares your ideas of thinking. that in and of itself makes me consider the possiblity that their is a future for us all.
3/1/2010 2:38:30 PM by Adam    
Very well put! Finally I have found someone other than my family that thinks this way. The government definitely shouldn't have the right to take our guns away. Government was created to oversee and protect us not to rule and oppress us like they are now. Keep speeking your mind and don't give up the fight!!
2/28/2010 6:21:03 PM by The Person    
Excellent! trully amazing. Well researched and proves my point
2/23/2010 1:07:47 PM by Trigger Rush    
Well done! Oft times it's difficult to find free thinking, let alone sensible free thinking, within the public school system. Keep up the good work, you're most definitely on the right (read: correct) path!
2/23/2010 12:17:46 PM by Dan    
Just when you think that that the liberal-biased schools have our kids brainwashed into thinking guns are in and of themselves evil, you see a paper like this written by an obviously smart student, and it sorta gives you hope for America. The U.S. Constitution- not just a good idea, it's the law.
2/23/2010 11:57:08 AM by John    
I agree wholeheartedly and it's refreshing to see the youth of America understand what INDIVIDUAL rights are and how they should be applied vs how they are applied. We're slowly but surely gaining ground and hopefully more intelligent people will replace the relics of ages past that are currently entrenched in government.
2/23/2010 11:54:48 AM by HandyMan Hugh    
An excellent article by Mr. Marley. He has done his homework. Mr. Marley has also put it together quite well, in a logical easy to follow chain of good reasoning. So Kudos to Mr. Marley, I predict a great future for him, because he appears to work hard, and he can think critically. Much success to him. Sincerely, HandyMan Hugh
2/23/2010 11:31:54 AM by Drew    
Great article this story has more truth to the second admendment debate then most of the stories in the Huffington Post or NY times.
2/23/2010 11:26:58 AM by Marc    
Bravo! You, Mr. Spratt, understand something that many college educated professionals and politicians do not. You give me hope for the future of this country, please keep up the good work.
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