Ron Paul With an AR-15by Ron Paul Recently by Ron Paul: The Sequester ‘Crisis’ and What Should Be Done
No one has the right to tell you, you can't publish a book because you might libel somebody. Nobody tells you, you can't own an automobile because there might be an accident. And nobody should tell you, you can't own a gun because it might be misused. If somebody is libel, they have recourse in the courts. If somebody causes an accident with an automobile, this can be dealt with in the courts. The same way with a gun. If a gun is misused, it should be dealt with in the courts. Unfortunately, government doesn't enforce the law against those individuals who commit violent crimes. 70 percent of the crimes in this country are committed by individuals who have prior criminal records. This gun sure looks deadly, but it's not the least bit deadly unless I point it at someone and pull the trigger. In the words of Thomas Jefferson, he said that we were "endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights," and among those rights is our right to defend ourselves, defend our family, and to defend our property. Unfortunately, in every society, there are those individuals who will resort to force to get what they want. It's impossible to have a policeman on every corner to protect us, so; therefore, it is very important that we maintain the right to defend ourselves. I think it's important that we look at the Second Amendment in the context of the entire Bill of Rights. Our freedoms are based on a philosophy called the Libertarian philosophy. That means we have a right to own anything we want, including guns, as long as we harm no other person. The Constitution gives us that right. The best way to protect that right is to exercise it. If we sacrifice our liberty in the pursuit of safety, we'll lose our safety and our liberty.
March 7, 2013
Dr. Ron Paul was a Republican member of Congress from Texas.
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