America, guns, and freedom. Part I: A recapitulation of liberty - PubMed (original) (raw)

America, guns, and freedom. Part I: A recapitulation of liberty

Miguel A Faria Jr. Surg Neurol Int. 2012.

Abstract

The role of gun violence and street crime in the United States and the world is currently a subject of great debate among national and international organizations, including the United Nations. Because the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects the individual right of American citizens to own private firearms, availability of firearms is greater in the U.S. than the rest of the world, except perhaps in Israel and Switzerland. Indeed, although the American people continue to purchase and possess more firearms, homicides and violent crimes have continued to diminish for several decades because guns in the hands of the law-abiding citizens does not translate into more crime. As neurosurgeons, we can be compassionate and still be honest and have the moral courage to pursue the truth and find viable solutions through the use of sound, scholarly research in the area of guns and violence. We have an obligation to reach our conclusions based on objective data and scientific information rather than on ideology, emotionalism or partisan politics.

Keywords: Civilian disarmament; Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution; constitutional republic; individual freedom.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1

Figure 1

Polish resistance fighters during an uprising in 1944

Figure 2

Figure 2

German soldiers in street fighting in Poland in 1944

Figure 3

Figure 3

Captured Jewish women being deported from Budapest to concentration camps in 1944

Figure 4

Figure 4

Anti-communist Cuban insurgents fighting against Fidel Castro (1959–1964).

Figure 5

Figure 5

James Madison, the master builder of the U.S. Constitution and an author of the Bill of Rights.

Figure 6

Figure 6

The famous knotted gun statue, created by Swedish artist Carl Fredrik Reuterswardat, stands at the UN Headquarters reflecting the organization's overt anti-gun bias in the hands of civilians.

Similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Adams L. The Second Amendment Primer: A Citizen's Guidebook to the History, Sources, and Authorities for the Constitutional Guarantee of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. Birmingham, AL: Palladium Press; 1996.
    1. Amar AR. The bill of rights and the fourteenth amendment. Yale Law J. 1992;101:1193–284.
    1. Bennett JT, DiLorenzo TJ. From Pathology to Politics: Public Health in America. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers; 2000.
    1. Blejwas S. A heroic uprising in Poland and Kojder A, Wegierski M. The Role of Poland and the Poles in World War II. The Polish American Journal. 2004. Aug, [Last accessed on 2004 Aug 15]. Available from: http://www.polamjournal.com/Library/APHistory/Warsaw_Uprising/warsaw_upr... .
    1. Clark J. Saeta Ediciones. 2nd ed 1992. Cuba, Mito y Realidad — Testimonios de un Pueblo.

LinkOut - more resources