Violence and The Second Amendment (2A)

CBPO Jon A. Underwood, CBP, (Ret.) 

In the middle of Chanukah, the lighting of the Menorah with all the happiness that entails, and just a few days from Christmas, the celebration of the birth of Jesus, the Savior to so many worldwide, we are shocked and exposed to this:

The murder of a Mother, the theft of her lawful weapons, the murder of other Adults who had willingly accepted the responsibility of the education and guidance of children and then, the most shocking of all, the murder of 20 innocent Kindergarten class children, who did nothing wrong except they went to school to learn how to learn, to grow into members of our great society. How can any person explain this? To be sure, there have been and will continue to be pundits who will opine about the whys, wherefores and possible reasons for this crime.

Currently the investigation in ongoing and a lot of questions will have to be answered, Data is still in flux, but the main question, “Why?” will never be answered. We will never truly know why, was it because the subject was mentally ill, I would venture a SWAG and say “Yes!”, Did he feel himself a victim, by design or otherwise, as so many of our society have began to feel? Did he feel slighted by his Mother, the Teachers and Staff at Sandy Hook Elementary or was it something else? WE WILL NEVER KNOW!

Let us attempt, with the limited information available at this time to be somewhat analytical in our considerations of this terrible situation.

 

The Weapons:

Based upon a new report by medical authorities, the wounds were caused by the use of the Long Arm, reportedly an “AR” type rifle. The make, model and caliber are unknown at this time.

Other weapons stolen by the subject were a semi-automatic Glock pistol, a semi-automatic Sig pistol with associated magazines. I observed a video feed of a long arm being unloaded and cleared in the back of a vehicle, with the action on the right side of the weapon, that is most likely not a AR design but possible a long stroke rifle or auto loading shotgun? A timeline of the crime has not been determined yet.

 

The Law:

In Connecticut, for those persons not forbidden to possess firearms, a person 21 years of age or older, requires a permit to purchase and carry a concealed handgun, There is no licensing of owners and no registration of handguns.  Rifles and shotguns have no restrictions.

Connecticut and many other states have “Gun Free Zone” laws. These zones do not protect anyone. They endanger the lives, safety and well being of our children. Where do these mass shootings happen? They happen where these “gun free zone” laws exist! Where businesses, based upon the liberal “guns are evil” mentality, prohibit Americans from having firearms to defend themselves and others. This mentality is politically based, not a common sense, safety related decision.

“Gun Free Zones” need to be revoked along with the dismantling of the mentality that guns are evil and anyone that uses or possesses them are evil as well.

I suggest armed security at schools, either Police resource Officers, trained teachers, staff or armed security. I suggest after this is done, we post a sign, in large, bold letters at all entrances:

“This School has security present and they are armed for the protection of Students and Staff”

See how many incidents happen at schools from then on… Just like states with concealed weapons laws, crime incidents drop.

 

The Subject:

Adam LANZA, 20 years old, lived with his Mother, the same woman he murdered by shooting her in the face. I am sure in the coming days and weeks, more information will come out, possibly not flattering for her or other victims in this crime spree. The investigation by Police is intended to determine the facts, not the truth, as truth varies from person, place, time and perception.

 

The School:

 The in place policy seems to have been followed a secure door system with entrance granted by electronic lock with visual verification. We don’t know for sure did he “tailgate” with another authorized user? Did he simply force the door with physicality or by use of the weapons that he had stolen? A determined person will get in, regardless of measures designed to stop or delay their attack.

The policy of locking all the doors and then hiding seems to me to be “victim” based and not “protection” based in nature. Israel has schools as well, this does not happen there as most adults have been members of the IDF and have weapons knowledge. Some teachers are armed in Israeli schools and the access process is far more secure than in the United States.

I feel that the training and arming of certain teachers or permanent Security Officers is a reasonable step to protect our children. Unarmed Security is no security. Design of structures with Physical security of   classrooms and the complex itself in mind, to include reinforced doors and windows, should also be considered in all future construction nationwide.

 

Overall:

An initial crime was committed, Matricide (Murder of the subjects Mother).

A follow-on crime occurred with the theft of the Mother’s lawful weapons and ammunition and other items.

The subject stole the privately owned vehicle of his first victim, his mother, went to the school in question and killed 5 Adults, identities still unknown. He then killed 20 young, unidentified as of yet, children with the weapons that he had stolen, that he was too young to legally possess. The exact weapons that were used, the calibers and technical data, and any other “aftermarket” information still has not been determined, verified and released to the public by investigators.

There will be all sorts of conversations about the tools involved in the murders, the weapons. There will be all sorts of questions about the motives of the subject, and since he took the coward’s way out, we will never know, we will speculate, we will ponder the reasoning, but we will never know for sure.

We are a nation of Laws. We have a foundation of all laws in our country, the Constitution of the United States of America. Within this Constitution, signed and ratified as a nearly perfect document, based upon the time, by our Great founding fathers, exists the “Bill of Rights”, the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution.

Among these amendments, is the Second, some say the most important of the amendments, the 2A, and is easy to understand in its simplicity:

"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."

Within the last 20 years, its necessity and the intent of our Founding Fathers has been hotly debated, contested in court, the 2A has been upheld by a US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) decision, 5 for/4 against.

 

Reason for the 2^nd Amendment:

Without getting into a huge discussion, lets understand that the Founding Fathers (FF) had just fought a war of independence, the revolutionary War against Great Britain with huge loses and much suffering. They were all in full knowledge of the sacrifice of those who fought and the reasons behind the War. They not only could read about the abuses of the King at the time, his government, its then “colonial” leadership, but they could see it with their vary eyes!

These great Men knew that it was not prudent to start a new form of government, a representative republic, without safeguards for the now American people to defend themselves from further abuse, by any government, including the newly established and free United States of America.

In no other government in the history of the world, did the originators of that form of government, within the framework of the government itself, allow the citizens of the Nation the capability to possess weapons and bring down if need be, that vary same government!

That one alone idea shows the Greatness of the United States of America. The 2A is a check and balance against a tyrannical, non-responsive and dictatorial government that does not follow the desires of its Citizens.

Without the 2A, there is nothing stopping any government, especially our current administration, so inclined to not meet the people’s desires, from disregarding the freedoms guaranteed by the US Constitution itself.

The history of our nation has always been that of the rifleman. The armed citizen: ready to defend against any threat. Criminals, brigands, insurgents and even the government should they not heed the US Constitution and the desires and intentions of the American People.

 

In Conclusion:

This incident in Connecticut is tragic, it is unimaginable for most people to even come close to understanding the pain and suffering of the Parents, the loved ones and friends of the victims, to include the surviving family of the subject of this crime.

It would be so easy to over react and create a string of laws aimed at the only items that we can be sure of, the only items we can feel and touch, the existence and availability of firearms.

These same firearms, guaranteed by the 2A, even though inconceivable to most Americans, are the very tools that the American people can insure their very freedom from any threat, as intended by our Founding Fathers, including our own Government.

If we were to take away the availability and access to these weapons, we would be taking away our capability to defend ourselves from “anyone that threatens our safety, our national sovereignty and our very way of life”.

If new laws are made to remove the availability of rifles, with their root design in military use, handguns, with high capacity magazines, or other firearms, ammunition and accessories, the American people will no longer have a capability to defend themselves. We will, in effect, be a disarmed populace, rife for oppression, control and manipulation.

The Average citizen will no longer have access to the weapons and required accessories for those weapons, (Magazines, ammunition, aiming devices) that will allow them roughly the same level or capability that the Military or Police have. That will signal the time where the American people no longer have the capability of self protection as guaranteed by the founding fathers and the US Constitution. That will be the time that the American People will live under a Police state and will no longer be a free people. We won’t be able to defend ourselves against the most dangerous and oppressive entity known to Man:

A Government that was of the people, but has changed from following the will of the people and doing the people’s daily business, to an entity, no longer of the People, but of persons no longer following the Constitution of the United States and the vision of our Founding Fathers.

Any changes that do not follow the US Constitution and its modification process, a Constitutional Congress and an Amendment to the Constitution, as voiced by the American People, is unconstitutional and therefore, unlawful.

If the American people, through Constitutional means, state they do not wish to have access to firearms, (I can’t imagine the American people doing that and allowing themselves to live in a Police State) then so be it! That is the only way to lawfully change the second or any portion of the US Constitution.

Unlawful enforcement of an illegal change will result in pain, suffering and much bloodshed!

 

JON A. UNDERWOOD

CBPO, CBP, (RET.)

YUMA, ARIZONA

 

Comments

[Debbie]

Excellent article Jon.

You say: "It would be so easy to over react and create a string of laws aimed at the only items that we can be sure of, ..."

Over reaction is what we had. The bodies were still warm, still laying on the ground in the classroom, and the Left was ranting for gun control, gun laws. gun restriction.

[(Rhino!) CBPO Jon A Underwood, CBP, Ret.]

Deb,

Of course they were. The democrats live on three columns, they are:

1. Race bating and making people into victims.

2. Bigger and bigger government to include socialized medicine with free abortion on demand without any personal responsibility.

3. Gun control with the end game of preventing anyone but the Military and Police from having weapons, (under democrat party control) resulting in a disarmed populace and ending in a Police State. of course.

We Republicans, Conservatives and TEA Party types need to stand up and demand our rights, just as every liberal does. Should we do this, we and freedom shall prevail!