E-mail that I received from Poe today. It is worth reading!
"God and Guns
By Rep. Ted Poe | Published in The Daily Caller, June 29, 2010
I was at a town hall meeting back in Texas recently and a local man came up to me afterwards to talk about his concerns over where our country was headed, something to do with a fiery inferno and a hand basket. As he was talking to me, I noticed his t-shirt: “I love my Bible,” with a picture of the Book; and “I love my guns,” with a picture of two Colt 45s. Naturally they were in the right order; after all he was the local preacher.
The most important right we have as Americans is the freedom of speech, and that includes the freedom of religion. It is first because without it, none of the rest would be possible. The right to bear arms is second because without it, we could not protect the first.
Yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling simply stated the obvious as it is written in the Bill of Rights: “A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”
I am sure the halls of academia were all up in arms about our right to bear arms. The media immediately began to spread the shocking news – the Supreme Court upheld the law. Oh, the hysteria. Murder rates will surely double upon the mere announcement. Never mind the fact that more gun control does not lower murder rates, it actually increases them. Look at Washington, D.C. But, let’s don’t let the facts get in the way of a political agenda. I wonder how the media and anti-gun protesters would have felt about the First Amendment being ignored for political purposes?
Those who claim there is no individual in the Second Amendment ignore the most basic feature of American rights: rights in this nation belong to the people – not the government. The Supreme Court ruled accurately and restored the rights of all Americans based on the due process clause of the 14th Amendment, which commands that no state shall “deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law.”
To truly understand the meaning and purpose of the Second Amendment, we need to understand the men who wrote the Constitution and what they said when it was ratified. The Founding Fathers were very concerned that a strong federal government would trample on individual freedom and individual rights because that’s what happened to the colonists; and that’s what governments historically do to their people, trample on individual rights.
So after the ratification of the Constitution, the Framers knew that a declaration of rights had to be added to protect basic individual rights, rights that are inalienable, created by our creator and not created by government.
The Second Amendment was included in the Bill of Rights to prevent the federal government from disarming the public like the British Army did to American citizens. The right of the free people to defend freedom and protect themselves was so important that it was placed second in the Bill of Rights.
Thomas Jefferson knew the importance of an armed citizenry. He said, “No free man shall ever be debarred from the use of arms.”
Samuel Adams wrote: “The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their arms.”
And of course James Madison, who helped write the Bill of Rights, once wrote that the Americans had “the advantage of being armed,” and that other nations governments were “afraid to trust the people with such arms.”
Leave it to a Texas preacher’s t-shirt to keep it all in perspective: without the Second, you can’t protect the First. And that’s just the way it is."
I Really Like This Man- Congressman Ted Poe
Moderators: carlson1, Charles L. Cotton
-
- Senior Member
- Posts in topic: 1
- Posts: 1805
- Joined: Fri Jan 01, 2010 3:01 pm
- Location: Golden Triangle
Re: I Really Like This Man- Congressman Ted Poe
Cougars are shy, reclusive, and downright mysterious...
-
- Senior Member
- Posts in topic: 2
- Posts: 429
- Joined: Mon Mar 01, 2010 7:52 am
- Location: Webster
Re: I Really Like This Man- Congressman Ted Poe
Ted Poe used to be a local judge... I remember him from when I did jury duty several years back. He's a good man, near as I can tell.
"America needs God more than God needs America. If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a Nation gone under." -- Ronald Reagan
NRA - TSRA - PSC - CHL
NRA - TSRA - PSC - CHL
Re: I Really Like This Man- Congressman Ted Poe
He always found interesting ways to sentence those in his court when the circumstances were appropriate
CHL 08/00
“We have no government armed in power capable of contending in human passions unbridled by morality and religion... Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
John Adams – 2nd President of the United States
“We have no government armed in power capable of contending in human passions unbridled by morality and religion... Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
John Adams – 2nd President of the United States
-
- Senior Member
- Posts in topic: 1
- Posts: 381
- Joined: Fri Sep 05, 2008 10:23 am
- Location: Spring, TX
Re: I Really Like This Man- Congressman Ted Poe
Yep...he's a lot like Gov. Chris Christie of NJ...not afraid to be bold and speak out.
I'm a lucky guy...Tep Poe as my U.S. Representative and Debbie Riddle as my State Representative. They are both tenacious and are strong 2A supporters.
I'm a lucky guy...Tep Poe as my U.S. Representative and Debbie Riddle as my State Representative. They are both tenacious and are strong 2A supporters.
Nov. 2010...Check!
Nov. 2012...Don't Give Up!
Jan. 2013...True Change!
Nov. 2012...Don't Give Up!
Jan. 2013...True Change!
-
- Senior Member
- Posts in topic: 1
- Posts: 2058
- Joined: Sun Mar 01, 2009 1:59 pm
- Location: Houston
Re: I Really Like This Man- Congressman Ted Poe
I'm jealous... MY 'representative' is Sheila Jackson Lee!pdubyoo wrote:Yep...he's a lot like Gov. Chris Christie of NJ...not afraid to be bold and speak out.
I'm a lucky guy...Tep Poe as my U.S. Representative and Debbie Riddle as my State Representative. They are both tenacious and are strong 2A supporters.
I keep voting against her, election after election after election... and she STILL keeps getting re-elected!
I'll quit carrying a gun when they make murder and armed robbery illegal
Houston Technology Consulting
soup-to-nuts IT infrastructure design, deployment, and support for SMBs
Houston Technology Consulting
soup-to-nuts IT infrastructure design, deployment, and support for SMBs
-
- Senior Member
- Posts in topic: 2
- Posts: 429
- Joined: Mon Mar 01, 2010 7:52 am
- Location: Webster
Re: I Really Like This Man- Congressman Ted Poe
You mean the CongressWOMAN!!!!!! LOLRHENRIKSEN wrote: I'm jealous... MY 'representative' is Sheila Jackson Lee!
I keep voting against her, election after election after election... and she STILL keeps getting re-elected!
There's a guy running against her, John Faulk, if I remember his name correctly. Vote for him.
"America needs God more than God needs America. If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a Nation gone under." -- Ronald Reagan
NRA - TSRA - PSC - CHL
NRA - TSRA - PSC - CHL