February 7 – One of the hottest topics in the news these days is the issue of gun control. And, of course, part of the discussion is about the U. S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. And that usually brings up the question of “What would the Founding Fathers do?” What were they thinking? Most of our founding fathers had a European heritage-many an English heritage.

The back story of the founders' thoughts on the politics of gun ownership began with the politics of England. During the reign of James II (1685-1688), Protestant Englishmen feared that they would be disarmed by their Catholic king and bullied by his large professional army and its Catholic officer corps. In fact, that is what James planned. However, his Protestant subjects chased him from the throne in 1688 – with a little help from the Dutch.

One consequence of the Glorious Revolution was the English Bill of Rights, banning standing armies in England in peacetime and guaranteeing Protestants the right to bear arms “for their defense.”

The gun provisions of the English Bill of Rights became relevant when the U. S. Constitution was ratified. Patrick Henry and New York Governor Clinton feared a stronger federal government. Once the Constitution passed, they offered amendments condemning standing armies, upholding the right to keep and bear arms, and praising militias made up of ordinary citizens summoned to fight by their states. “A well regulated Militia composed of the body of the people trained to arms is the proper, natural and safe defense of a free state.”

This is where the Second Amendment came from. After passing through Congress and the massaging hands of James Madison, this became the Second Amendment to the U. S. Constitution: “A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

Having fled persecution in Great Britain, the Puritans had laws requiring every family to own a gun, to carry it in public places, and to train children in the use of firearms.

In 1619, the colony of Virginia had statutes that required everyone to bear arms. Connecticut law in 1650 required every man above the age of sixteen to possess “a good musket or other gun, fit for service.”

The early laws of America were very clear about this. The people were responsible for their own defense and freedoms and needed to be prepared to fight. Thomas Jefferson said, “The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.” At that time, there was no standing army, no concept of a professional army, created and paid to defend the colonies.

George Mason, often called the father of the Bill of Rights, asked, “What is the militia?” “It is the whole people. To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them”

With the approach of the American Revolution, the natural rights philosophers had established the foundation for self-defense. Every man's life, they said, belongs to God, and to allow one's life to be taken because he failed to defend it was wrong. This natural law to the right of self-defense was also applied to the duty to protect one's family, community, and national liberties. For the colonists, at the heart of their religion was liberty, a sacred gift from God.

For the most part, the colonial churches, particularly the Congregational churches of New England believed that to revolt against tyrants, such as King George, was to obey God. It may have had its roots in the Old Testament accounts of Israel's wars for freedom, but it became a powerful fire that impassioned the citizens. And it remains a belief that continues to influence Americans' views about the right to bear arms today.

As a very young George Washington rode off to meet the world's biggest, strongest, and most well-trained army, who did he have with him – a militia of citizen soldiers, armed with their own muskets and rifles, who were willing to lay down their lives for the guiding principles of this new nation: The United States of America.

Most of us probably will remember the famous poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow that tells the story of Paul Revere's famous ride: “Listen, my children, and you shall hear of the midnight ride of Paul Revere, on the eighteenth of April, in '75; . . . When he came to the bridge in Concord town . . . who at the bridge would be first to fall, who that day would be lying dead, pierced by a British musket-ball. You know the rest. In the books you have read, how the British Regulars fired and fled. How the farmers gave them ball for ball from behind each fence and farmyard wall, chasing the redcoats down the lane, the crossing the fields to emerge again under the trees at the turn of the road, and only pausing to fire and load. So through the night road Paul Revere; and so through the night went his cry of alarm. . .”

Then, as now, our citizen soldiers are willing to lay down their lives for the guiding principles set forth in our founding documents-the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and others.

Our Founding Fathers gave us these documents. They had to lean upon a common understanding of law, government, social order, and morality. A system of moral and social values that originates in the Old and New Testaments of the Word of God.

Whether each of our Founding Fathers was a Christian is not the issue. Their writings, their statements, and their votes evidence the fact that the majority of them embraced these great principles as the basis for a civilized nation: The Dignity of Human Life; The Traditional Monogamous Family; A National Work Ethic; The Right to a God-Centered Education; the Abrahamic Covenant; Common Decency; and Our Personal Accountability to God.

I don't know what our Founding Fathers would do today but I know what they did and what they did has served us very well.

Friends And Neighbors

Last weekend, John and Marolyn Lavra had all of their family as house guests to help Marolyn celebrate her birthday on the 2nd.

The Cardinal Quilt Guild of Prince Edward met on Tuesday, Feb. 4, at the Douglas Presbyterian Church. They continue their ongoing project of providing quilts to the children at the Patrick Henry Boys and Girls Homes. The Quilt Guild meets at 10 a.m. the first Tuesday of each month, September thru May. at the Church. If you have an interest in quilting, please come join us.

The Woman's Club of Farmville, GFWC, met on Wednesday, Feb. 5th, at the Prince Edward Rescue Squad Building. Debbie McClintock gave a very interesting program on the origins of Valentines Day.

Belated Happy Anniversary wishes to Lacy and Catherine Mylum who recently celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary. Their children honored them with a party at Charley's Waterfront Cafe on Saturday, January 26th.

Happy Birthday wishes go out to Kayla Marston who celebrated on the 6th and Ruth Walker of Meherrin who will celebrate on the 9th.

If you have any news or announcements that you would like to share, please call me at 223-2271 or email me at kz5ro@kinex.net.