Letter to the Editor: Second Amendment rights infringed by Taft

September 12, 2003
Newark Advocate

Another Fourth of July has come and gone, and there is not a more revealing and compelling picture of why we are free to celebrate the Fourth of July than a picture of a quill pen lying next to a musket rifle on a table along with a draft of the Declaration of Independence. What followed the Declaration of Independence reveals why the musket at the table is inseparable from the quill pen.

When British soldiers marched on settlements in the colonies, word spread from house to house for the men -- and yes, even boys -- to bring their guns and join together in defending their families, their homes and their liberty. These spontaneous rag-tag militias were critical to the success of the Revolutionary War.

Let us be thankful that we still retain the right to keep and bear arms in order to defend ourselves from those who would do us harm.

Oops, I got caught up in the moment and forgot - we Ohioans have our Second Amendment right taken away by our state government. Some of our state representatives have tried to restore that right to us, but Gov. Taft lets others decide for him what is right and wrong. In other states across America, law-abiding citizens have this right to protect themselves. In Ohio, we are criminals if we exercise this right. How long will we have this right infringed? Only until we elect a governor who has the courage to do what is right.

Jack Mussetter
Newark

Click here to read the letter in the Newark Advocate.