“Americans have the right and advantage of being armed – unlike the citizens of other countries whose governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.”

— James Madison

by R. Lee Wrights, Vice Chair, National Libertarian Party

Beware the person who says to you, "You don’t need a gun." That kind of person will get you killed. Nothing proves this more than the terrible event of Friday last at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown Connecticut. Children and adults alike had their lives tragically cut short by a shooter in a gun-free zone. While it is appropriate to properly mourn those who have, once again, fallen victim to senseless violence, it is imperative that we act to ensure a tragedy such as this is never repeated.

My own sadness quickly turns to anger as the realization sets in that this is actually a problem we can do something about. We can stop this madness tomorrow. When will America learn? How many innocent children must die before we admit the madness of gun-free killing fields populated by our precious sons and daughters? Why are we not doing everything we can to protect our children? We obviously need more guns in the gun-free zones!

I can’t believe we put armed guards in armored vehicles to safeguard and transport our money; however, we put our children on buses with no seatbelts and take them to schools where only video cameras and defenseless adults guard them. We plaster big bright signs proclaiming every school a Gun Free Zone, strategically place video surveillance equipment everywhere, and then pretend we have done all we can do to protect our precious children.

Government has created these killing fields and conveniently labeled them "gun-free zones." It all began in 1990 when the Gun-Free School Zones Act (GFSZA) was enacted as section 1702 of the Crime Control Act of 1990. Oddly enough the GFSZA was subsequently declared to be an unconstitutional exercise of Congressional authority under the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution by the United States Supreme Court, and was therefore voided.

Chalk on up for the good guys, right? Not so fast. You see the case, United States v. Lopez (1995), was the first time in over half a century that the Supreme Court limited Congressional authority to legislate under the Commerce Clause.

Following the Lopez decision, Congress made minor changes requiring that the firearm in question "has moved in or otherwise affects interstate commerce," and reenacted the law with President Bill Clinton’s signature. As nearly all firearms have moved in Interstate Commerce at some point in their lives, this was merely a legislative tactic to circumvent the Supreme Court’s ruling. Although the amended GFSZA has yet to be challenged in the United States Supreme Court, it has been reviewed and upheld by several United States Circuit Courts.

A law has been ruled unconstitutional and voided, yet reworked by Congress it somehow has been fixed and implemented anyway? And, it is yet to be challenged? Why? Where is the National Rifle Association on this? How about my favorite Gun Owners of America? Speak up Second Amendment Foundation and Citizen’s Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms! I urge all these organizations to join the Libertarian Party and myself in calling for an end to gun-free zones. Help us honor the innocent victims of Sandy Hook by memorializing them as the last time a thing like this ever happens.

Gun control allowed this to happen. More gun control is not going to fix it. Gun control laws tell the criminals right where to go to make their crime as spectacular as possible. Criminals are smart enough to know better than to walk into a gun show and start shooting. These "sick" individuals are not so sick as to walk into a police station and just start shooting either. They go where the victims have been herded together for them and left virtually unprotected. Sadly, they just go to school.

Children are dying! Gun control only gives sick people a place to go to kill people where they know no one will stop them. Newtown proves having no weapons is fatal! Take down all gun-free zone signs, arm the teachers and administrators, and train them to save young lives. We have to give our teachers and children a fighting chance.

You never hear about an Israeli school being shot up by some madman. Why? Because it never happens, that’s why! The teachers and administrators are armed and train to protect their young charges. Whatever happened to the wise old adage, “Better safe than sorry”? Our children certainly deserve at least the same amount of protection we give our money, don’t they?

Let’s honor the young victims of Sandy Hook Elementary. Let’s memorialize them by making them known as the last victims of a failed attempt by government to protect our most valuable resource… our children. Stop pretending you are protecting our children by putting up more signs and cameras. Bring back the Second Amendment thereby allowing responsible people to defend themselves and our children unimpeded by government interference. May Newtown Connecticut be forever known as the last town where children died in a gun-free zone.

"After a shooting spree, they always want to take the guns away from the people who didn’t do it."

— William S. Burroughs