Op-Ed: Equal rights under the Second Amendment

March 29, 2007
Townhall.com

By Ken Blackwell

On March 9, a good thing happened for people living in the central and inner cities of America: the DC gun ban was declared unconstitutional. The blanket ban on all operational firearms - and every handgun even if that gun doesn't work - was struck down as unconstitutional by a federal appeals court. As a guy who lived in the projects, served as mayor of Cincinnati, and who serves as a member of the National Rifle Association's urban affairs committee, I say, "Three cheers for justice."

Many cities have bad gun laws, and the worst is the DC gun ban. Under the ban, you cannot have any handgun, even in your own home. What's worse, you can't even have a shotgun or rifle, unless it's locked away (unloaded) or disabled with something like a trigger lock. The end result is the same; you cannot have a functional firearm handy in your house. If something happens in the darkness of night, you cannot have a usable firearm to defend your house, your children, or even your own life. That's the outrage of laws like the DC gun ban.

Gun control laws hurt law-abiding people because they're the only ones who obey those laws. Criminals, by definition, don't obey the law. When you pass broad gun control laws criminals still get guns. What's worse, when you ban guns, the criminals know their intended victims are almost certainly unable to fight back.

And, what types of citizens are disadvantaged the most by these laws: low income families and poor people living in our inner cities. Many of my fellow African-Americans, Latinos, and other racial minorities are burdened under such laws. If some thug tries to pull a gun or bust through a door, there's little decent people can do to protect themselves.

Every man has the right, and the duty, to put his life on the line to defend his wife or mother or child. A single mother of any race shouldn't have to worry about protecting her little girl. A grandfather, regardless of where he lives, shouldn't fear for his grandson's safety when they go to bed. Women, the elderly and the disabled are the ones left most vulnerable by gun control laws. The inner city is full of them.

Gun control laws like the DC gun ban leave these good people defenseless. That is not what the Founders intended.

Click here for the entire op-ed from former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell at Townhall.com.