Today’s marches stir memories of 1960s rallies.
As the speakers at the recent anti-guns rallies chanted: “Enough is enough” and “Never again,” over and over, I was reminded of our anti-war movement beginning in the 1960s, when I was a 20-something disabled veteran. One of the problems then was the voting age, which, during the worst days of the Vietnam War, was 21. And even when the voting age was lowered to 18 in 1972, the “movement” pretty much stayed away from the polls.
So to the “Enough is enough-Never again” movement, I offer this: Do not be deterred by your opposition. The campaign will be dirty; your detractors will disparage your character and question your patriotism, both individually and collectively.
And mostly, they will repeatedly raise their phony Second Amendment argument, claiming the absolute right of civilians to possess weapons of war. Don’t let them try to confuse the issue with their technical jargon and “their” definitions of what constitutes “real” weapons (to them, an AR-15 is not a “real” weapon). Repeatedly point out that any gun capable of being fired 30, 40, 50 or more times in a matter of seconds is a weapon designed for war and nothing else.
And don’t forget to tell anyone who will listen: The second and third words of the Second Amendment are: “well regulated.” And at the time the Second Amendment was written, the “weapons of war” were single-shot muskets, tomahawks and knives.
I wish you good luck and most of all: vote. Chuck Volkema Sr. Deltona