Epilogue by Adler Eisenbruder

Again, I am pleased to present another fine posting by Adler Eisenbruder:

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I have tried thus far to present the case that the second amendment is exactly what it appears on it's face, the right of the citizenry of America to keep and bear arms. I hope that my points have made some sense in the prospect of bolstering a friendly reader’s position and even perhaps causing someone of differing opinions to give the second amendment a new think. I would like to finish off with a perspective of what to do now. I feel there are several avenues on which to proceed positively to strengthen the second amendment and insulate it from an encroaching government that at times treats it as the pesky civil right. First, as many people as possible should be encouraged to take up target shooting as well as skeet shooting. Try to start a range in your area if there isn’t one. If there is one, support it. If a military range is available, see if you can sponsor a club. Help BSA camps to have year round access to rifle and shotgun ranges. Get a decent target rifle and perfect your skills. Become involved in Olympic shooting sports as a fan. Know the players and support them, spread the word about them, invite them to clinics etc. Don’t forget the Winter Olympics sport shooting events. Become an expert on the firearms you own. Learn some rudimentary gunsmithing. The plains Indians learned to adapt the rifles they possessed, replacing the metalbands with rawhide, which made a lighter more maneuverable calvary rifle that some regarded as better than the original U.S. issue. Take a course on making reloads. Check out black powder kits as a sidehobby from your regular firearm. Take a look at Garret’s research on the Pedersen inventions.

Remember Garret’s admonition “where there’s a will there’s a way”. These are some ways that I believe will strengthen the second amendment. The more people that own and use guns, the more difficult it will be for the anti-gun lobby. I’d like to finish off with two anecdotes. First, after the treaty of Versailles, the German airforce was cut down to nearly nothing. How then did the Germans have so many Messerschmidt pilots at the beginning of the Second World War? They simply started glider clubs all over Germany. Perfectly legal yet effective practice for pilots. Hence target shooting.

Secondly, I lived at one time in a very tough neighborhood in Riverside California. One Sunday afternoon as my family returned home from church the police had blocked off our street. I sent my family into the house and I walked down to where a crowd of my neighbors were standing. Out of a backyard came a stretcher bearing a shirtless, handcuffed man. He was wounded. I quickly found out that he wasn’t from around our area and had come to our neighborhood to shoot his estranged wife. As they brought him by our group one of our number yelled out, “We’ve got you marked. Don’t come back here. We’ve all got guns!” A cop just smiled as they loaded him up. Minutemen, for sure. I appreciate the opportunity to express myself, using the first amendment to defend the second. I would also like to hear from any of you concerning this crucial matter and what can be done to ensure the continuation of all our constitutional rights. Thank you for your kind consideration and Garret for his patience.

A. Eisenbruder