Two Flags  by Bohdan Rabarsky

For some, the thought of the 2nd Amendment conjures up gun rights and hunting privileges. For others, it’s self-defense against an intruder wanting to harm you or your family. (For those on the Left, it’s called a mistake.)  In any case, the 2nd Amendment has been interpreted in many ways depending on who is doing the interpreting.

James Madison is the father of the Bill of Rights, which is the first Ten Amendments to our Constitution.  Madison drew tremendous influence from 16th century philosopher John Locke on topics such as Separation of Powers, Limited Government, Religious Freedom and Natural Rights. Madison and Locke believed in fundamental principles of liberty, including the idea that individuals possess inalienable rights to life and liberty. These rights, of life and liberty, weren’t afforded by government but were God-given rights with which we were born.  Fundamental rights of self-defense are amongst the God-given rights you were born with and not enabled by government or the 2nd Amendment. Government can list them & protect them, but our rights are not theirs to take away.  

The Don’t Tread on Me Flag (Gadsden Flag) was created during the American Revolution and is often mentioned when the 2nd Amendment is discussed. That flag is an historical symbol of liberty, individual rights and defiance against an over reaching authority. In essence it says that we have our rights and trying to take them away will be like stepping on a rattlesnake.  It is quite often presented at 2nd Amendment rallies aimed at fighting for gun rights in defiance of anti-gun government legislation. 

To the gun grabbers on the Left, the Gadsden Flag symbolizes their greatest fear.  If they trample on our rights, under 2nd Amendment protections, we have the means to protect those rights.  The Left prefers unarmed masses, such as currently in Iran, where the common people do not have the means to defend their rights against a tyrannical government, which restricts their religious liberty rights, too. 

A lesser-known flag was the Pine Tree Flag featuring a green pine tree and slogan “An Appeal to Heaven.”  It symbolizes an appeal to divine justice when earthly authority fails; resistance against tyranny.  The phrase “An Appeal to Heaven” originates from John Locke’s philosophy, justifying revolution when no earthly authority exists to settle grievances. But resistance needs the means to resist; hence, the 2nd Amendment. 

The Pine Tree Flag still has meaning.  In recent times, it was displayed by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, who is deeply religious and has explicitly stated that his Christian faith is the most important aspect of his life. He is a Baptist whose political worldview is derived directly from the Bible.  He also believes in the 2nd Amendment.

The 2nd Amendment is a check that ensures we have a choice that was not given to us by government, but a choice that is protected from government. What government can give, government can take, hence the Founding Fathers enshrined the 2nd Amendment into the Bill of Rights as a preexisting right that government cannot take away.  Defense of both our personal rights and our constitutionally given rights are God given rights, not rights provided by the 2nd Amendment. Never the two should be confused.  

James Madison was also a strong proponent of religious liberty, as he wrote the 1st Amendment.  The 2nd Amendment protects the 1st Amendment.