All That Remains frontman Phil Labonte has done an op-ed for Altpress.com. The piece focuses on the Second Amendment and the recent wave of shootings. An excerpt from it can be read below with the full article available at the above-mentioned link.
“In light of the tragic events in Aurora, Colorado, and at the request of Alternative Press, I’ve written a piece on the Second Amendment. Before I go into the discussion, I want to extend my deepest sympathy to the families of those affected by the violent and inhuman acts perpetrated on that fateful night.
While popular opinion is that these horrible acts are a uniquely American problem due to the liberal gun laws we have, I submit that it is a problem worldwide. July 22 was the one-year anniversary of the massacre in Norway—a country with very strict gun control laws—perpetrated by Anders Breivik where 77 people (mostly children) lost their lives.
In June, there was a shooting in a Toronto mall where one man was killed and seven others injured. Again, a country with strict gun regulation. There was also the March 11, 2009, shooting at the Winnenden School in Winnenden, Germany, leaving 16 dead and 11 injured. Germany also has strict gun regulation. There are violent and mentally damaged people all over the world. If they are looking to harm innocents, they are going to do it, regardless of law.
A lot of people have a misconception about what the Second Amendment means. Adopted Dec. 15, 1791, the Second Amendment’s purpose was to ensure tyranny would not take hold in the United States and that a truly free people had the means to defend themselves from those that would use force against them, whether that force be from an invading army, a criminal trying to steal private property or a government who would subjugate its people…”
