Such ignorant bliss just isn't for him

In an April 3 letter, Matt Brennan stated, "In countless issues…we hear the same rhetoric when a Democrat wants to create legislation on a federal level. 'Let the communities decide. Why don't we just keep big government out of this issue?'"

He then applies this to the Second amendment, arguing that disarming citizens should be left to local communities.

Applying Brennan's logic to all our rights should be a good test as to whether his idea is logically tenable or not.

Imagine these scenarios: "Sorry, you can't say that in St. Charles…we have restrictions on freedom of speech."

Or how about, "Why, of course we can kick your door down and search your premise without a warrant in Geneva…the Fourth Amendment doesn't apply here."

Or how about, "Sorry, no trial by jury here in Batavia…the 7th Amendment is bad government."

Or the scariest of them all because it's true, "Sorry, you can't own the means to protect yourself in Chicago because the 2nd Amendment doesn't apply here!"

It is ironic that I write this on the anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King Jr.

The opposite of Brennan's idea is precisely what the civil rights movement fought for: uniform application of the constitution (law) to all people.

To the extent that government operates in this manner, it operates lawfully.

When it usurps powers not given to it by the Constitution, then it operates unlawfully.

As I've come to expect, there are the usual untruths told by the anti-Constitution crowd.

Without exception, in states where concealed-carry laws are adopted, there is an almost immediate drop in the crime rate.

Conversely, cities and states with the most draconian anti-gun laws have the highest crime rates. These are according to FBI crime statistics.

University of Hawaii Professor R.J. Rummel did some fascinating research.

He tallied the war casualties for the all wars in the 20th century at 35 million.

He then tallied all the murders of citizens by their own governments in that same century perpetrated by the likes of Hitler, Stalin and Mao.

That number exceeds 150 million.

In each of those genocides, the civilian population was disarmed.

Maybe you can afford to live in ignorant bliss. I cannot.

As Ben Franklin so aptly stated, "Any people who trade their freedom for security, deserve neither the freedom nor the security."

Jeff Lonigro

St. Charles