Letter: Heart of man – not a tool – creates death and destruction

With the current debate about gun control, I wanted to remind everyone that the Second Amendment was given to protect us from the government, not simply for self-protection.

It's primary purpose is to protect us from the government itself. We the people are the fourth branch of the government. We have the final say, no matter what the president, Congress, or the Supreme Court say.

It is the Second Amendment that gives us this last- resort ability. Patrick Henry said, "Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel."

James Madison said "... the advantage of being armed forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition."

When our politicians want to disarm us, we must ask ourselves, why? What is their motive? They will claim that it is to protect the innocent, yet it is the innocent that they wish to disarm.

Even if there is not a sinister reason behind the current push for gun legislation, we can be sure that "the road to hell is paved with good intentions." If gun control is successful, then we can be certain that at some point tyrants will take full advantage of it.

Our founding fathers fully understood this simple truth that "to disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them," quoted George Mason. May this generation of Americans not give up what our fathers fought and died to give us. As a side note, imagine a utopian society without guns. Then imagine a young deranged killer with a machete and a classroom full of small children and one teacher.

You end up with the same results as Newtown, just a different weapon. It is ultimately the heart of man that creates death and destruction, not the tool.

Jim Moyer

Yuba City