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Despite their spelling my name wrong, they got the rest of it right.
http://www.sierratimes.com/05/01/29/openletter.htm
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http://www.sierratimes.com/05/01/29/openletter.htm
copyright 2005 ec RobertsOpen letter to President Bush
E.C. Roberts
January 20, 2005 - President George Walker Bush gave his Inaugural speech today, speaking to the nation and the world from the Capitol in Washington, D. C. He made a number of good points, but there were a couple which I wish to address here, as having bearing on our subject (the Second Amendment and Constitutionally protected rights.) President Bush, of course, was not thinking of our particular subject when he made these remarks, but they bear so directly on our interests, we must take him at his word and remind him constantly of what he said.
We must also remind our hired hands in the halls of Congress and in our state houses that these words are to be followed and fleshed out with actions which strengthen our country and our freedoms.
Mr. President, very early in your speech, you said, “Freedom, by its nature, must be chosen, and defended by citizens, and sustained by the rule of law and the protection of minorities.” Sir, this is an axiom which you must keep in mind as you carry out your agenda for this country’s future. The fact that many of our citizens are prevented, by State and Federal law, from defending themselves, their families and their country is inexcusable in this day and age. The twenty thousand, and more, laws which block honest citizens from procuring and bearing arms for self defense must be turned back.
Honest citizens are not the problem, Mr. President. Criminals are the problem and must be dealt with swiftly and fairly. Those who prey on honest citizens are parasites who must be brought to justice without endangering the rights of those who are honest. A law which clearly and plainly states that anyone using arms in defense of self or family or community shall not be prosecuted, persecuted or harassed should be speedily passed and the Federal Justice system must be encouraged to enforce such a law vigorously.
The police (neither local nor Federal) can’t be expected to protect all citizens at all times. Nor are they obligated to do so. Only an armed and trained citizenry can offer the full range of protection which we deserve and should expect in this great country. If we honest citizens are freed of the fear of Federal and State police power, we will begin to again act as strong, free Americans are expected to act. We will “take back the night.”
Mr. President, you have put forth the following statement to tyrants and dictators: “To serve your people you must learn to trust them.” Mr. President, this is something which must also be understood by many in our Congress and in our State Houses. If the citizenry of this country cannot be trusted, how far have we fallen into debauchery and despair? When a government decides that the average citizen is expected to be untrustworthy, then that government begins on a journey into tyranny and slavery. You also said, “America has need of idealism and courage, because we have essential work at home - the unfinished work of American freedom. In a world moving toward liberty, we are determined to show the meaning and promise of liberty.”
Yes, the work of American freedom is unfinished. It is, perhaps, farther from being finished than at any time in our recent history because of the flurry of laws and regulations which flow unceasing from Congress and our State Houses. Our representatives have taken to heart the concept that they are “lawmakers,” to the detriment of their responsibilities as representatives of the citizenry. The task of representatives is to listen to their constituents, and make the best of the many conflicting desires set before them.
That does not mean that our representatives should attempt to make everyone equally safe, wealthy, healthy and coddled, by force of law. It does mean that they have a responsibility to see that all have the freedom to pursue those goals. It does mean that they have a responsibility to see that all have the freedom to protect what they gain as they achieve those goals.
This fits with another statement you made in your inaugural speech: “America will not pretend that jailed dissidents prefer their chains, or that women welcome humiliation and servitude, or that any human being aspires to live at the mercy of bullies.”
Jailed dissidents are not common in America. There are some dissidents who believed they had the right to defend themselves in time of danger who have been jailed for acting on that belief.
Very few of our women live in humiliation or servitude. However, in some places in America, criminals have been promised by the State that the woman will not be allowed to defend herself.
Violent criminals are by definition bullies. Many people in America must live at the mercy of these bullies because the State will not allow the best means of self defense to be possessed by the “common” person.
You further said, “Self-government relies, in the end, on the governing of the self. That edifice of character is built in families, supported by communities with standards, and sustained in our national life by the truths of Sinai, the Sermon on the Mount, the words of the Koran, and the varied faiths of our people.” I commend to you, Mr. President, the words of our Savior, as reported in Luke 22:36: Then said he unto them, “But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one.”
God Bless you, Sir.
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