CORD BAUER, San Clemente
I’ve read with interest Mayor Pro Tem Gene James’ efforts to make San Clemente a Second Amendment Sanctuary City. The interesting part wasn’t the sanctuary statement itself, but the response.
It’s as if every respondent has forgotten that the Bill of Rights is designed to protect us from government. Mr. James just seems to be reminding us of what these documents promised 229 years ago.
In a normal world, his declaration would seem a bit silly, like confirming that we have a right to breathe. But these are strange times. There are people who tell us to “trust science,” and yet even the definition of gender has radically changed from what it was just 10 years ago. Any notion of a shared common ground has been destroyed, and we’re dealing with the fallout.
While our governor gets ready to release 74,000 prisoners, another group screams that we need to defund the police, that all Whites are racist, and that even if you’re a Brown or Black cop, you’re racist, too. It seems like crazy talk, except that these sentiments are being echoed at all levels of government.
The basic rights of the people come from God, not government. So many movements today don’t want God in the equation; they want government on top. When government rules, laws can be changed on a whim or ignored altogether.
Our Founders realized this and sought to tie our inalienable rights to an entity more powerful than mere humans. Those that want to change the rules know this, too, which is why Marxists and Socialists so strongly oppose religion.
It’s our duty to protect the rights and opportunities we have now, so they can be handed down to our children. Right now, the only thing being handed to them is debt and an uncertain future.
We also need to push back against the ever-increasing power of the government, and this declaration is one small step in the right direction.