Revoking Our Second Amendment Rights

After reading some of Thomas Paine’s works, it has come to my attention that he had a lot of influence of the declaration of independence. There are theories that he might have even written it, but my main concern is how he thought government should be. He believed “that a government should exist for the people and not against the people.”, and I could not agree with him more. Things have not changed much over the course of history, in this field. He was fighting for independence and that’s what we are doing now. Our government is trying to revoke our second amendment rights, our right to bear arms.

http://www.punkerslut.com/articles/thomaspaine.html

Since the idea was introduced to the public, gun and ammo sales have went out the roof. I personally have purchased every round I can find. Why? If this act passes, some of the calibers and specialty rounds will not be available anymore. One of the demands of the President is to “ban armor-piercing bullets” and remove them from the market. This is a problem, because any average Joe can go to an Army Surplus store and buy bulletproof vests and many other protective layers. Without the armor piecing rounds, how would a man, or woman, protect their children and family against an intruder who had purchased this armor? The only thing that family could do would be to attempt to meet the intruders’ desires, and that’s not acceptable in my book. The second amendment says I have the right to bear arms and I want to be able to do in any circumstance.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57564380/does-obamas-gun-control-plan-have-a-chance/

Another part of the bill states that there will be a ban on military-style assault rifles and magazine capacities will be reduced to ten rounds. I own an AR-15 and so does my father, and if the ban ever passes, I don’t think they will ever get them because it’s something we have purchased with our hard earned money, for enjoyment. A “military-style assault rifle” is a very broad term in the government’s opinion. They interpret them as any firearm with a muzzle break, which is a barrel that has gas chambers in it to reduce recoil, and has an accessory rail, which is a slotted piece of plastic that allows a flashlight or sight to be attached. That describes almost every firearm produced today. This is an issue because the public purchases these types of weapons for enjoyment. Many Americans are some of the best marksman in the world and they shoot weapons like this every day. The magazine reduction is also a big issue. Most all handgun magazines hold between twelve and seventeen rounds, except in New York, where the limit is already ten. By reducing them to ten rounds, this reduces the likelihood that an intruder could be stopped. You could lose something very special to you because you didn’t have that one extra bullet. It’s also an issue for the sportsman due to the constant reloading process and it will wear the internal parts of the firearm out faster.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57564380/does-obamas-gun-control-plan-have-a-chance/

The last part of the bill states that there should be mandatory “background checks for anyone who wants to buy a gun.” This is in effect now, so how will it change anything? When a citizen goes to a store to purchase a firearm, the seller contacts the government, gives them all of your information, and then tells you if you can purchase it or not. The only way to “beat the system” is to buy a firearm from an individual seller. The new bill states that an individual cannot sell firearms without going through the process. I agree that there should be a mandatory process but a criminal is not going to follow the law. By stopping individual sales, it takes away from the honest, and gives to the dishonest.

If this bill passes, there will be an uprising similar to what Paine started. Our government is trying to take away one of our God given freedoms. This is the land of the free and I do not agree with the bill. I am an active member of the NRA and I will fight this until there is a decision made. We are slowly turning into a dictatorship, and I believe that if Paine were here, he would stand beside me and fight for what is right.

http://netrightdaily.com/2013/01/gun-control-for-dummies/

Here is a photo to explain the muzzle break and accessory rail

What was the Great Awakening, what caused it, and what were the effects of it?

http://www.jonathan-edwards.org/

In the 1730’s a religious revival swept through the colonies. A man named Jonathan Edwards, pictured above, did not want to convert to the Church of England and became concerned that possessions and lust were overtaking Gods place in society. Edwards strongly believed in Calvin’s nine principles and he felt that wealth was becoming more important than them. When Edwards spoke, he spoke with anger and conviction because he had become furious with society. This made people come from all around to hear his sermons and as he continued to preach, more and more came to hear. Once this had began, Great Awakening had started.

So, what caused this religious uprise? It started with The Glorious Revolution of 1688. This stopped religious and political groups from fighting and it also made the Church of England “the reigning church of the country.” All other religions were condensed and were regulated so that the Church of England could prosper. It made the society more stable because everyone was practicing the same religion, but instead of bringing them closer to God, it created doubt and many became non believers. Going to church became somewhat of a chore,where people would participate just to get the sermon over with, instead of a time to praise and have a love for God. I learned while reading some of Edwards works that he had a passion to pray and he felt like everyone should have that same love for God. He saw what religion was turning into and stepped in.
http://www.great-awakening.com/?page_id=12

Here is a painting of Edwards preaching. It shows how the people took his sermons.

http://mrsaulle.edublogs.org/2011/09/27/while-i-was-in-montana/

The effects of the Great Awakening were rather large, but in my opinion, the biggest effect was how it prepared the people. It prepared them for the war they were about to embark on for independence. When the church wasn’t living up to the congregations expectations, they could make a new church and start having service there. This gave the people the knowledge of independence and it also made them feel like their opinion mattered. Colonists realized that the Church of England did not have the power,because it was in their own hands. After realizing that the church could not control them, they began to believe that the English monarch could not control them either. Even though the people did not share the same religious views, they all wanted to be free from British control. If the Great Awakening had never happened, then the United States could still be under British control.

The Great Awakening was a religious movement that taught the people to love God and have a relationship with Him. It was caused by the Church of England being in control. The congregation went thru the motions when they were at church and this caused an uprising. It prepared the colonists for what was about to come, which was the desire for independence. They were given the tools and the knowledge, and the only thing left was for them to use what they had been given.

Here is a video that gives an overview of the Great Awakening
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=n-dk4-HBNWQ