By DON FOY | La Farge
The First Amendment guarantees freedom of religion, but laws forbid human sacrifice and polygamy. The same amendment guarantees freedom of assembly, but laws prescribe when and where and how. We have freedom of speech, but laws protect us from libel and slander. These limitations are common-sensical and for the common good. Why shouldn’t similar boundaries apply to the Second Amendment, especially considering guns’ potential (and sometimes use) as lethal instruments?
The Vernon County Board intends (no date set yet) to vote on a resolution making Vernon County a “Second Amendment Preservation County.” This basically means the county would be unwilling to enforce any limitations, including universal background checks, whatsoever on guns, period. Yet statewide and nationally, this Republican leadership which is so unctuous about “protecting our Second Amendment Rights” continues to put limits on democracy’s most basic right: the right to vote. Instead, let’s propose resolutions to make Wisconsin a “Voting Rights Preservation State”!
America’s problem right now isn’t a lack of gun rights. The U.S. has more firearms per person, and more firearm deaths, than any other nation with flush toilets. No one’s going to eliminate hunting culture, etc. This resolution is a political ploy to lay the groundwork to scare and rally a certain constituency. It is an agenda being pushed in other counties and states. It goes against common sense, common safety, and a civil culture. I respectfully ask you to urge your board members (and legislators, in the future) to vote against this anti-social resolution.
