I Support the Constitution -- All Of It

I am tired of hearing people say "I support the Second Amendment." Hell, I support the Second Amendment. I also support the First Amendment, and the Third Amendment, and all the rest of the amendments. I also support Article I, Article II, Article III, and the rest of the articles. And I especially support that part in the Preamble about "insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare." Everything that follows in the Constitution is intended to support those goals defined in the Preamble.

Our country has existed for almost 230 years because our lawmakers, courts, and government have been able to balance the individual rights protected in the Constitution with the overall goal of keeping us safe. But when I hear people say "I support the Second Amendment," I hear them saying they have shifted the balance and placed their view of that amendment ahead of the other rights and protections provided in the Constitution. I believe we can protect the individual rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment without jeopardizing the lives of innocent people. We need leaders who are prepared to do both instead of continuing to make this an either/or debate.