Distressing Example of the Statist Mindset

       Firearms ownership by Americans was said to be “a privilege” by Bill O’Reilly on his Fox Cable News channel Factor program yesterday.

       Not  a right, mind you – “a privilege” . . . something granted by the grace of, and at the discretion of the state, the government.  And something that can, by definition, be withheld or withdrawn by the state . . . sort of like a drivers license.

       The depressing thing about this example of the statist mindset that has taken hold among the general population is that it showed up on what claims to be a “fair and balanced” network and one that frequently is attacked as a conservative one.

       That even the popular Mr. O’Reilly does not recognize or agree with the view of the nation’s founders that people have a natural right that emanates from nature’s God to defend themselves and to equip themselves to be able to do so effectively.  The right is recognized, not granted, by the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution.  The Amendment does not purport to bestow the right. The Amendment prohibits any infringement of the right by the government. Thus the Amendment protects and guarantees the right that it recognizes as a pre-existing one.

       Mr. O'Reilly's dissemination of such profound ignorance is an insult to our heritage and a betrayal of the nation's founders.

       Does Mr. O’Reilly also believe that one can worship whatever deity one recognizes in whatever way one wishes only because of a privilege bestowed on citizens by the state and -- again, by definition – subject to being withdrawn by it?

       Mr. O’Reilly would do well to return to Harvard for a refresher course on the fundamentals of human liberty, natural law, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution.