The Second Amendment is critically important to everyone here at Lucky Shot, and we know that you, our customer, feel the same. Considering the peculiar events of this surreal year of 2020, we thought it might be helpful to briefly look at some thoughts from our Founding Fathers.

So, pour a tall one in your favorite Lucky Shot 2nd Amendment glass and enjoy this inspiring reflection on America's beginning.

"I ask who are the militia? They consist now of the whole people, except a few public officers." – George Mason, Address to the Virginia Ratifying Convention, June 4, 1788

Having suffered the oppression of tyranny and understanding the danger of human nature in governing, our founders' hard-earned wisdom provides us with the tools and the backing to protect our rights and liberties as citizens of the United States of America.

How often do we remind ourselves of these facts?

We must ask ourselves if we have grown complacent and soft, or are we engaged as active participants in our own freedoms?

Since its' conception, there have been those opposed to this idea. In modern times, the Second Amendment has received scrutiny and scorn from numerous directions. The original reasoning and concerns regarding the citizens protecting themselves from tyrannical government overreach, has been diluted and forgot by many.

For those reasons, and for its original intentions, we must work as hard as ever to protect this fundamental right of our freedom.

"To disarm the people…[i]s the most effectual way to enslave them." George Mason, June 14, 1788

America's very unique Second Amendment is the intentional safeguard explicitly created to allow American citizens the ultimate right to protect themselves and control their government. This right was not merely intended for hunting or individual self-defense. Although, with the passage of time, this is precisely how many have come to view this crucial right. It is up to us to educate our fellow citizens and work to preserve this and every other right and protection our founders fought to provide.

"…the ultimate authority, wherever the derivative may be found, resides in the people alone…" – James Madison, Federalist No. 46, January 29, 1788

Personal responsibility is the touchstone of our constitutional principles. James Madison and his contemporaries were keenly aware that the people could not successfully govern without individual responsibility.  

In today's world, personal responsibility seems to hold a tenuous grip. 

As committed supporters of the Second Amendment, we can easily recognize these realities. Likewise, we take our responsibilities in life seriously. We all have obligations to our family and loved ones, but we also have a commitment, a duty to protect what so many have died to preserve.

Fortunately, the Second Amendment is not the only tool our founders provided for the citizenry to manage the government. The entire process and structure have safeguards for and are focused on we the people. Chief among these less drastic measures is our right and duty to vote. America has come a long way since the beginning, when only landowners could vote. Thanks to these very same constitutional principles and mechanisms, we are forming a more perfect union, and today all citizens have the right to vote. Race, gender, status, and wealth are all irrelevant to the ballot.

Regardless of your politics, as a defender of the Second Amendment, your vote for like-minded candidates is an assumed responsibility. Not everyone views the Constitution as a benchmark. Certain ideologies view it as a malleable list of suggestions. Notions such as this create constitutional conflict and result in some horrible legislation.

Our Constitution is truly a benchmark, a point of reference to begin from for every government action, and every piece of legislation.

"On every occasion [of Constitutional interpretation] let us carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying [to force] what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, [instead let us] conform to the probable one in which it was passed." – Thomas Jefferson, letter to William Johnson, 12 June 1823

We vote to choose those we want as leaders, approve taxation, and agree to adopt specific laws. We also vote because it is our prescribed duty as citizens to stay engaged and protect our inalienable rights. 

There will always be those who try to muddy the waters and argue against many constitutional traditions as irrelevant in modern America. Prominent among these arguments is the purpose and necessity of the Second Amendment.

Samuel Adams said it best;

"The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms." – Samuel Adams, Massachusetts Ratifying Convention, 1788

The Second Amendment's intentions and expectations are made very clear in the comments and arguments of our founders. The genius of their collaboration and breadth of experience has created a nation unique across the ages.

As the blessed recipients of this wisdom and the freedoms it provides, our solemn duty is to preserve and protect those ideals.

The time is now, and the choice is ours this election season; time to exercise our rights and make our voices heard.