2nd Amendment says nothing about tyranny

Looking through the Daily Herald on Feb. 10, I came across a Fence Post letter stating; “The right to bear arms is all about protecting ourselves from the tyranny of a government gone bad.” I have been hearing similar statements with increasing frequency, and I find them both confusing and alarming because nowhere in the Second Amendment is “tyranny” or “government gone bad” mentioned. Are these people somehow confusing the Second Amendment with the indictment of King George found in the Declaration of Independence: “The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States.” We, as a people, declared our independence from Great Britain, not from the United States of America.

When these people talk about protecting themselves from tyrants, who do they mean? Are they referring to our elected officials, the police, the military or America in general? Do these people actually believe the Second Amendment gives them the right to take up arms against our friends, neighbors and children? Will it become necessary for us to defend America from those who chose violence over the ballot box? Are these people truly the Americans they claim to be?

I believe the Declaration of Independence helped free us from a British tyrant; I believe in the whole Constitution, even the parts I do not like, and I remind those who feel that the Second Amendment gives them the right to insurrection against the United States of America, that Article 1, Section 8, of that same Constitution allows Congress to “provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions.”

Peter J. Pischak

Arlington Heights