By Jacob Bradley, Waller County Libertarian Party Chairman

“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.”
-The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution

The most important phrase in the Second Amendment is “shall not be infringed.” The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “infringe” as, “an act as to limit or undermine (something); encroach on.” In a time when a major political party in the United States routinely runs on limiting and eliminating the right to keep and bear arms, it is of the utmost importance we as Texans rally to the cause of preserving our rights.
Those politicians say Americans do not need certain firearms to hunt or to protect themselves. They are perfectly happy to regulate your right to an allowable group of firearms that they deem reasonable. But this is not what the founders were addressing when the Second Amendment was written. At the time of the ratification of the Second Amendment (December 15, 1791), America had just finished an eight year war with a tyrannical government that was oppressing them. The amendment was passed not to hunt or to protect yourself from an intruder, but to protect yourself from a tyrannical government.
In a recent speech Joe Biden attempted to quote Thomas Jefferson: “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” He followed up this quote by saying “if you wanted or if you think you need to have weapons to take out the government, you need F-15s and nuclear weapons.” Comments like this should worry each and every American, no matter the political affiliation or personal beliefs. An elected official told the American people point blank, if you stand against us, we will put you down. The fact that this was not a bigger issue shows that we, as Americans, have become too docile and the Government no longer has any level of fear of the American people. With guns, tyranny takes bloodshed. Without firearms, all it takes is a pen.
On September 1st of this year, constitutional carry went into effect in Texas. This allows all Texans to legally carry a firearm without infringement or undue hardships from the state. In the months leading up to the bill going into effect, Texas Democrats decried the absolute destruction it would cause. Yet, here we are two months later and there has been no spike in crime, and the state moves forward, unchanged. It’s as if the ones decrying the law didn’t care that the 20 other states where constitutional carry previously passed did not see an increase in gun-related crimes. The fact is that the politicians do not care about the guns. They care about the control and the inability of the population to defend themselves against tyranny.
In the last 18 months we have seen a government go further towards totalitarianism than it has since the birth of this nation.

While we are debating the Constitutionality of mandates, we cannot allow the federal government to erode our most basic right: the right to protect yourself from enemies both foreign and domestic.

Without the ability to protect themselves, many people would have been victims and some of them wouldn’t have made it home to their loved ones. A firearm is the great equalizer. Size, shape, and fitness level no longer matter; all are equal. The ability to protect yourself should not be limited because some faceless bureaucrat deems a gun unacceptable or that you are unfit.
The right to keep and bear arms is not one that can be shrugged off and allowed to disappear. This is the fight to have in order to keep us free, both from the government and the criminal. While the left fights for full gun control, the right fights for common sense gun control. While Sheila Jackson Lee fights against AR-15s that weigh as much as 10 moving boxes and fire .50 caliber bullets, Dan Crenshaw fights for red flag laws (the government taking your guns without cause, and you having to go before a judge to prove your innocence). The left does not care at all about your gun rights and the right only cares about maintaining the gun rights that they deem acceptable. The Libertarian Party is the only party that defends your right to keep and bear arms without infringement. We believe that you have the right to protect yourself without an overbearing government getting involved in your business. This fight is the fight that will ensure your children and grandchildren are allowed to be free, and we owe it to them to fight this fight now, before they no longer have the ability to fight.
“Texans should safeguard their constitutional carry law like their lives depended on it. Gun rights protect the rest of our rights. As Californians flood Texas, I worry they are bringing their anti-gun policies and contempt for the Constitution with them. Be careful that your new neighbors don’t trample upon your Constitutional rights,” said Angela McArdle, 2022 Libertarian National Chair Candidate.