Regarding the addition of an Amendment to the Iowa Constitution protecting the right to keep and bear arms:
Rep. Horbach’s Closing Remarks for the 2nd Amendment Debate
Iowa House of Representatives
I am not the public face for Gun Rights in this body.
However, the task at hand today is not only about guns, it’s about freedom, the people of Iowa and the freedoms that make this country great….
DO NOT TAKE THIS TASK LIGHTLY! On a much different scale, we are taking on a similar task to our country’s founders.
Noah Webster – (dictionary Lexicographer) – said this –
“There are men in all ages who mean to govern well, but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters.” Does that describe me? Does that describe you? Are we the master of Iowan’s rights, promising to govern well, but making sure we remain the master of their rights? Or will we relinquish our “power to govern” and trade it for freedom for all?
An American patriot, Patrick Henry made a statement that summed up my position on Iowa’s Constitutional Amendment vote. He said:
“Are we at last brought to such humiliating and debasing degradation, that we cannot be trusted with arms for our defense?” Have we reached a point in society where we as legislators look out the windows of this capitol, we see our law abiding constituents, and we deem that they cannot handle the responsibility of the “intended” rights provided by this country’s founders? This issue is not about just guns.
I have the highest respect for our founding Fathers, their ability to speak and write amazes me every time I experience it. (The use of brevity should be a lesson to us). The entire second amendment only encompasses 27 words…
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.[
With this amendment, the US Constitution was demanding, not asking, demanding Congress, and now due to the McDonald ruling, lawmakers at the state or local levels too, shall NOT infringe upon the right of the people to keep and bear arms.
As I said earlier, Iowan’s are reasonable people. Your law abiding constituents will continue to make the right decisions every day, criminals will not. Do not judge the freedoms we seek today by the acts of those that commit crimes, REMEMBER the second amendment protects the good and offers no protection for evil. The intent of the 2nd amendment was to allow the people to protect themselves from an unknown evil…..the tyranny in government. The exact scenario we find ourselves in today.
The shot you fire today will not come from a gun, yet it has the power to be heard around the world…tyranny in government is our target, and freedom is our prize.
Finally, there is one symbol of this state that stands as a reminder to us EVERY day in the chambers. The Iowa Flag…..Drug through the mud and blood of battles around the world, it stands silent with no wind to open its fold. Hidden within are the words of our state motto:
“Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain.”
Above all other issues of extreme importance, our forefathers left us with this one statement…Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain. We have the opportunity today to be the wind that lifts that flag for all to see.
Remember the statement by Noah Webster describing his fear of lawmakers…. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters.” Let this vote be our response…
Mr. Webster, Iowa has no masters!
Bravo Mr. Horbach!
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