Yesterday, Tuesday, April 20, 2010 a Pawn Shop in Augusta was robbed and the manager was killed.  When I read this in the local paper I thought why wasn't the manager armed?  Most pawn shop managers/owners are armed because of some of the clientele they have to deal with.  Today's paper said the murdered manager was known to carry a pistol, but yesterday he left it in his truck.  How sad!

People concerned about their self-defense and have concealed carry permits should remember the Boy Scout motto "Be Prepared."  The point is that one never knows when they may have to defend themselves, so they should be ever vigilant, and if they've decided to carry a handgun for self-protection, it should always be carried.

This morning in China a man killed eight students and injured five more in an unprovoked knife attack at the Nanping City Experimental Elementary School.  A common kitchen knife was believed used in this attack.  The following Google link provides a number of stories about this incident:

http://www.google.com/search?q=china+knife+attack+kills+6&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&ie=&oe=

There have been a number of active shootings in the United States in the last several years, all of which have led anti-gunners to call for more stringent gun laws.  This case reinforces the fact that weapons don't kill people - people kill people.  The point is there will always be unstable people that will commit atrocious acts, but freedoms should not be stamped out to deal with these lone incidents.

The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution states: "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."

Anti-gun rights entities claim the Second Amendment is a collective right of the state militia and not an individual right.  They believe the militia is the National Guard of each state - thus the right to bear arms applies only to the National Guard and is granted only to these organizations through the Second Amendment.  However, U.S. Code, Title 10, Subtitle A, Part I, Chapter 13, Section 311, "Militia: Composition and Classes" clearly defines militia as:

(a) The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard.

(b) The classes of the militia are—

(1) the organized militia, which consists of the National Guard and the Naval Militia; and

(2) the unorganized militia, which consists of the members of the militia who are not members of the National Guard or the Naval Militia.

Therefore, through this Title of the U.S. Code, everyone is a member of the "unorganized militia."  Thus reinforcing the fact that the Second Amendment is an Individual Right!

Zogby just completed compiling the data of a poll conducted July 21-24, 2009 regarding gun rights.  The results were:

1. Currently, 39 states have laws that allow residents to carry firearms to protect themselves, only if they pass a background check and pay a fee to cover administrative costs.  Most of those states also require applicants to have firearms safety training.  Do you support or oppose this law?

Support - 82.9%  Oppose - 11.1%

2. Do you agree that the Second Amendment, to keep and bear arms, is a right that should apply to every law-abiding citizen living in this country?

Agree - 75.7%  Disagree - 15.7%

3. Do you agree or disagree with a law that would ban the possession of handguns, except by the police and ohter authorized persons?

Agree - 18.9%  Disagree - 72.9%

3. Do you agree or disagree that the right of self-defense with a firearm is a fundamental right?

Agree - 70.8%  Disagree - 14.9%

4. Do you agree or disagree that you have an individual right to own and use firearms for lawful purposes?

Agree - 84.8%  Disagree - 9.1%

These are great results.  For more information, review the results at:

http://www.olearyreport.com/media/pdf/Zogby-OlearyReport-07.24.09%20Poll.pdf