It goes without saying that any time innocent blood is shed it constitutes a tragedy. Kyle Campbell’s most recent article, “Repeal the Second Amendment,” speaks to the outrage that Americans are feeling over senseless violence in our streets. Kyle and I could both agree that something must be done to ensure that America’s law enforcement officers act within the laws of the communities they serve to protect. With growing crime rates in urban areas, we must seek a solution that protects honest, law-abiding citizens and ensures that the men and women responsible for upholding the law are held to the highest level of conduct. To have peace in America, the people must be able to trust that law enforcement officers will faithfully serve the taxpayers.

Unfortunately, Kyle’s solution solves none of these problems and ignores the vital importance of the Second Amendment in securing the liberties we hold sacred. While the United Kingdom’s ban on the ownership of firearms has been a relative success in reducing the amount of overall gun violence, there is simply no comparison to the United States. The United States was born in the blood of patriots who revolted against an oppressive, tyrannical government, the very government which Kyle cites as the paragon of “sensible gun control.” If Kyle believes that a blatantly unconstitutional gun grab would heal distrust between the people and the government at any level, he is woefully mistaken. With over 300 million guns in the United States today, a mandatory gun buyback program is not only politically untenable but logistically impossible.

Standing as the cornerstone of the Bill of Rights, the Second Amendment reads, “A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.”

The Founding Fathers believed that the right to keep and bear arms was so inseparable from the defense of liberty that it should be enshrined in the Constitution. In the modern age more than ever, the Second Amendment is vital to the security of liberty in the United States. How can people truly be free if they are denied the basic right to defend themselves? The Second Amendment was not ratified to protect hunters; its purpose is to prohibit those in power from trampling on the rights of the people. The Second Amendment is a buffer against tyranny and only a tyrant would deprive people of the right to self-defense. The Second Amendment is as vital to our freedom as the First Amendment. How can one claim to champion women’s rights when the measures he proposes would effectively disarm the millions of women who feel that carrying a gun can keep her family and herself safe?

Every generation of Americans faces challenges and questions about the nature of human liberty that come to define who we are as a people. Some would have you believe that the American experiment in liberty is coming to an end, but as we move with uncertainty toward the future, let us reaffirm the immortal words of Thomas Jefferson: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction, and we must answer the call to defend the rights of all people. Now is the time to stand and boldly proclaim that this generation of Americans will face the challenges before us with courage and resolve, and we will do so without forfeiting our Constitutional rights. Come and take them.