Issue Position: 2nd Amendment

Issue Position

· Principle 19 - Only limited and carefully defined powers should be delegated to government, all others being retained by the people.

· Principle 18 - The unalienable rights of the people are most likely to be preserved if the principles of government are set forth in a written Constitution.

· Principle 13 - A Constitution should protect the people from the frailties of their rulers.

I am a strong supporter of our constitutionally provided right to bear arms including our rights to own hand guns to protect our homes and to carry concealed weapons.

Private citizens are constitutionally guaranteed the right to own firearms. The 2nd Amendment is not at all ambiguous - this right "shall not be infringed." Guns laws across the country infringe this right, day after day. It is my position that we do not need any more anti-gun laws. Private citizens must have the right to defend themselves, their families, their homes. This right must not be violated by federal, state and/or local government.

In the late 1990s, John Lott, PhD, wrote a seminal book, More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun Control Laws, that specifically addresses how gun control laws have NOT positively impacted the crime rate. In fact, according to Dr. Lott, those "states with the largest increases in gun ownership also have the largest drops in violent crimes." I would work to repeal gun laws and to strengthen the constitutional protections given to gun owners.

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