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This week we mourn alongside the
community of Sutherland Springs, in Texas. This past Sunday, in a Baptist
Church – 26 Christian men, women and children were senselessly murdered. My
prayers are with those dealing with this horror and the loss of their loved
ones, while my admonitions apply to everyone
A week earlier, we read stories
of people randomly killed while on a popular bike-only path in lower Manhattan.
The terrorist murderer drove a rented truck for nearly a mile down the path in
the shadow of the World Trade Center, shouting, “Allahu Akbar.” In New York,
the Islamic Terrorist was stopped by police as he was fleeing on foot.
However, in Texas, a brave,
quick-thinking, law-abiding gun owner jumped up to save lives in his own neighborhood.
Stephen Willeford quickly rose
grabbed his firearm and engaged the murderous assailant who was shooting and
killing Christians while they attended a Sunday morning church.
Stephen Willeford, is not a
police officer. He is not a Seal Team 6 member with advanced weapons training
and skills. He is a plumber who knows how to shoot well enough to injure the
killer, even though the fiend was wearing body armor.
When the killer fled the scene,
at high speed, a second citizen, a rodeo bull-rider, named Johnnie Langendorf,
picked up Willeford and the two of them gave chase.
These two average citizens kept
the 911 dispatch officers informed as they hit speeds of 95 miles an hour.
Eventually,
they directed deputies to the place where the killer had finally crashed his
escape vehicle.
In a news interview, Johnnie
stated that it was approximately 5 minutes before the police arrived on the
scene. While awaiting the arrival of law-enforcement Willeford had his firearm
trained on the killer until the police arrived.
Stephen & Johnnie are the
heroes in this tragedy. These two citizen heroes saved lives, of that
there can be no question.
But you know what else? — Stephen
Willeford, the plumber, was also an NRA member.
He’s a card-carrying member of
the NRA, while the murderer was not. Imagine that!?
So, a man who obtained a gun
illegally and was not a member of the NRA attacked a church full of Christians
and was stopped by an NRA trained citizen using his own personal firearm, for its
legitimate purpose –– stopping evil.
This is the good-guy-with-a-gun
scenario.
A trained, certified, legal gun
owner intervening against a bad guy who illegally obtained a weapon he is not
permitted, by gun laws, to have, or own.
It seems obvious that when a bad
guy with a gun shows up the answer is always a good guy with a gun (whether
that good guy is an officer of the law or a private citizen makes little
difference.) The point is good guys with firearms are needed to stop bad guys
with firearms.
Thankfully, two good guys showed
up yesterday in Sutherland Springs.
The background check system
(NICS) failed, because somewhere, somehow military records and court martial
information never made it into the NICS. Even if the information had been
placed into the NCIS in a timely and efficient manner, there is still no
guarantee that some other avenue of illegal firearm trade wouldn’t have
provided the means for the murderous ends that the perpetrator wished on these
Christian Brethren.
Our 2nd Amendment rights must be
protected and preserved to combat evil intentions. We must not make it harder
for good people like Stephen Willeford to keep and bear arms.
Here in
Oregon, we must be careful because the totalitarians in our midst will launch a
full-scale gun control effort because of this tragic mass murder of 26
Americans who were enjoying church last Sunday.
In truth, our government ought to be encouraging every able-bodied
citizen to not only own weapons, but be skilled and prepared in using them! In the old
days, this was the case.
How many of you can remember attending classes for shooting sports on your high
school campus? How many of you had your rifle or firearm in your car or hanging
from the back window of your pick-up truck while you went to class?
Our American heritage as
documented in our Constitution’s Second Amendment did not spring into existence
from another galaxy. It has a long history, founded in natural law, experience
and philosophy. Across the old and new worlds, the notion of an armed populace
as a means of securing human freedom was well documented in historical fact and
legal tradition.
Many of our nation’s Founders
were well studied in legal tradition and most of them would have read
William Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765–1769). Blackstone’s
first volume elaborates on the three grand, absolute rights. First, every human's right to life and personal security. Second, an inherent right which consists of the power to act as each one thinks fit – personal liberty. The third grand right is the "sacred and inviolable rights of private property," the ability to own and use private property for one's own purposes.
Blackstone covers several means
of securing and protecting these rights, noting, “The fifth and last auxiliary
right of the subject, … is that of having arms for their defense, suitable to
their condition and degree, and such as are allowed by law.”
In closing, historical
experience tells us that, "when the sanctions of society and laws are found
insufficient to restrain the violence of oppression," our natural rights for freedom and self-preservation cannot be denied. These basic rights belong to everyday, average
citizens. Citizens just like Stephen, Johnnie, you and I.
Remember, if we don't stand for rural Oregon values and common-sense – No one will!
Regards,
 Dennis Linthicum
Oregon State Senate 28
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1728
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, S-305, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: sen.DennisLinthicum@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/linthicum
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