The Southpaw Spot

I want to tell you something about Virginia.

Virginians are fiercely proud of their heritage and their state. As my wife is so fond of telling me, during the colonial period, Virginia WAS America. It drove the economy and produced our nation's finest leaders.

The Constitution is a product of those leaders. James Madison was the savior of the Constitutional Convention, uniting the feuding parties who favored either more state power or a more powerful federal government. George Mason insisted on a Bill of Rights before ratification. And you all know about Thomas Jefferson.

The debate over the second amendment will not die out any time soon. Is it a blanket statement, granting gun owners unlimited protection? Is it the product of a bygone time, intended only to apply to a militia?

I will not answer that question with my opinion, but I want to give you something to think about: Is yesterday's carnage what Madison, Jefferson, and Mason had in mind? What would they say of their beloved Virginia, and to a greater extent, their beloved nation?

33 people no longer have the right to pursue the liberty and happiness that our founding fathers and our Constitution guaranteed, at least not on this Earth. Their lives are over.

And it happened in Virginia. The home of Jamestown, where later this year our nation will celebrate the 400th anniversary of the first colonial settlement. The home of Yorktown, where Cornwalis surrendered. The home of Arlington, where our nation's bravest lay in eternal rest. Virginia, the place where America began. So ask yourself:

What would Thomas Jefferson do?

posted by The leftist southpaw @ 11:52 AM