In 1941, to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights which were added to the U.S. Constitution on December 15, 1791, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared December 15 to be Bill of Rights Day.

 It isn't really surprising that a national holiday celebrating the first ten amendments to the Constitution would be ignored by many people, most of whom aren't even aware the holiday exists. A couple hundred years have weathered much of the patriotic spirit to little more than flag waving in early July. Even some of our Founding Fathers would probably be ok with not commemorating the day since they were opposed to a Bill of Rights being added to the Constitution in the first place.

It isn't because they didn't believe in those enumerated protected rights but because those men strongly felt that the government was prohibited from doing anything not specifically granted to it by the Constitution in the first place. If the Constitution didn't say the government could restrict bearing arms, for example, then it couldn't. The fear was that adding amendments denoting specific things that the government could not do then it would lead to interpretations that if the Constitution didn't prohibit the government from doing certain things then it could do them rather than the other way around as was intended.

Jeff Knox of the Firearms Coalition says the NRA is derailing a good concealed carry bill and pushing a bad one in Iowa:

[O]ne would expect advocates to unite around the Alaska-style bill for this legislative session with an eye towards either passing a very good bill, or forcing a clear record vote on such a bill and using that vote against opponents in the next General Election. Instead, after ignoring the state for decades, NRA has decided to ride their white horse into Iowa to save the day by amending the already weak Iowa Carry bill to make it not only weaker, but to actually include some provisions which are worse than existing law – snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

Also see today's New Year's Gun Rights Resolution.

Visit the National Gun Rights Examiner for the rest of this article.

Second Amendment March is a grassroots organization that was started in February 2009 by author and firearms instructor, Skip Coryell. Since its inception they have received thousands of emails, thousands of sign-ups for their email newsletter, and thousands of visitors each month to their web site.

The purpose of the March is to galvanize the resolve of the American people to stand up for their right to keep and bear arms and to remind our politicians that the Bill of Rights guarantees that right as an individual freedom.

To achieve this, they will hold a peaceful, law-abiding national rally in Washington, D.C. on April 19, 2010. Along with the national rally, local rallies are planned in every state, including Ohio. Each state’s efforts for the national and statewide marches are headed up by an appointed coordinator for each state. Ohioans For Concealed Carry is heading up coordination for Ohio.

"W-III" (a screen name that combines his initials with an affinity) must not have gotten word from the Brady Campaign that I "denigrate law enforcement." A retired peace officer, he corresponds with me frequently and cordially, offering tips and comments, or to let me know he's shared a link to one of my columns with his friends. He even freely uses the term "Only Ones" to describe those in his former profession who do not share his support for an armed populace--funny how the only ones that angers are authoritarians who don't think "We the People" can be trusted...

Last night he called my attention to an FBI/Justice Department report from a few years back, "Violent Encounters: A Study on Felonious Assaults on America's Law Enforcement Officers." The entire thing is broken into several pdf files hosted by the American Firearms Institute.

Also see today's New Year's Gun Rights Resolution.

Visit the National Gun Rights Examiner for the rest of this article.