Ballot Access
Help Ed and the Libertarians get Permanent Ballot Access in Illinois.About Ed
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Chicago, where handguns are entirely illegal, has one of the highest rates of murder in the country. Gun laws are obviously not preventing gun violence. What they have created, however, are opportunities for politicians to offer feel-good but do-nothing platitudes to a public looking for solutions.
Shootings in Illinois are heavily concentrated in areas which suffer from heavy gang activity. I would argue that we do not have a gun problem – we have a gang problem. If we are serious about reducing gun violence, then our politicians should be looking for ways to address the root cause of that violence, namely gang activity, rather than seeking ever more creative ways to punish peaceful gun owners.
By preventing peaceful people from owning defensive tools, our government has been putting citizens at risk. This is directly in conflict with the sentiments expressed in the Declaration of Independence, which states that governments are instituted to secure our right to life.
As human beings, we are ultimately responsible for our own personal preservation and we have the right to defend ourselves. So while we do not have the right to threaten or harm others, and while we have the obligation to prosecute those who do, peaceful citizens have the inherent right to possess the tools needed to defend themselves from harm.
