My Comments in Support of Second Amendment Rights (March 1, 2016)

Good evening, Torrance City Council:

My name is Arthur Schaper, long-time resident of Torrance, and life-long citizen of the United States.

Finally, I have another good reason to speak to the city council.

I see that Community Choice Aggregation remains DOA in this city – as it should. It does not serve the community, does not promote choice, and aggregates power to the few at the expense of the rest of us.

I read some good news in the Daily Breeze, too, and written by Nick Green of all people:

“Torrance quietly liberalizes its tough gun laws in wake of two legal cases”

The key reason for this happening? To comply with a far-reaching court ruling:

In that case, Peruta v. San Diego, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that any law-abiding citizen has the right to carry a handgun for lawful protection in public.

There is no other “good cause” than being an upstanding legal resident.

I like reading about government agencies, whether local, state or federal, which respect the natural rights and individual liberties of our citizens.

Torrance has done the right thing in complying not just with a federal court order, but respecting the spirit and letter of the United States Constitution.

The Daily Breeze also reported about two very close to home incidents in which law-abiding citizens protected themselves and their property from potential assailants.

In Hawthorne, CA, former coach Jim Chadwick, now 90 years old, fired a round at an intruder. He was sharp and aware, and did not kill the man, who turned out to be a homeless and harmless drifter.

Nevertheless, the arguments which suggest that individuals of a certain age should not possess a firearm are baseless and even immoral. Just because a citizens is getting a Social Security check does not mean he  no longer has a right to maintain his own security with a firearm.

Another incident occurred in Redondo Beach, where a homeowner fired at a potential burglar, who in turn was then arrested and booked on suspciosn of burglarly.

There are many historical arguments which support the individual right to keep and bear arms.

Judge Andrew Napolitano declared: “The Second Amendment is not to shoot at a deer, but the right to shoot at the government if it is taken over by tyrants.”

I wish that the city leaders had more openly announced the liberalization of the city gun laws. With the rise in property crimes in the region, sending a message loudly and clearly that more Torrance residents can – and probably are already –armed with concealed weapons just might discourage potential criminals from coming her to commit crimes in the first place!