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Pulled this off another forum and thought I'd share.
My 14 year old daughter, Daphne, and I went to a gun rally at the NH Capitol
in Concord on Saturday, Jan 19, 2013. I don't even own a gun, but I'm a
strong believer in the Constitution and the wisdom of our Founders
especially when it comes to government taking away our freedoms, and I don't
like the direction Obam...a is taking the country on that issue. You know,
America, land of the free, and all the core strengths that made America
great.
I made up a bunch of signs and Daphne prepared a letter before the rally,
thinking she might hand it out to anyone who was interested. While attending
the rally, Daphne noticed that the speaker had stopped talking and that he
was handing the bullhorn to anyone who wanted to speak. She pointed that out
to me, and soon she went over to the Capitol steps, got in line, and waited
for her turn. After fighting her way to the front of the line, she stood
there, on the steps of the NH State Capitol, and read a shorter version of
the letter below.
She brought the house down.
After the cheers had died down, dozens of people shook her hand and
congratulated her. A couple of reporters interviewed her briefly and other
photographers took her picture. Just before she left, a representative from
the New Hampshire Assembly talked to her and asked if she could come and
speak at a hearing on gun control on Tuesday, Jan 22, 2013. Daphne said,
Sure.
On Tuesday, we picked her up from school at 12:00 noon and drove to Concord.
We found our way to the Legislative Assembly Hall, Room 204. The room was
packed and there was a line down the hall and around two corners. Soon, they
moved the meeting to another room. The second room also proved too small.
Finally, they sent us across the street, up to the large chamber in the
Capitol Building.
The room was near capacity. About ninety-five percent of the people were pro
2nd Amendment rights. The Representatives and PACs got to speak first, then
the common folk. Daphne was in the first 10 folks to speak who were not
representing a group. She was poised, though a little nervous, and spoke
clearly to the crowd. When she was done, she brought a copy of her speech to
the front of the chamber where the representatives were sitting, and they
fought over who would get to take it from her. The moderator had previously
silenced the hall from cheering or clapping, but people told her they would
have cheered if they could as they shook her hand on the way out. The whole
proceeding took more than 3 hours.
TRANSCRIPT:
Delivered to the New Hampshire Legislative Assembly
January 22, 2013
Dear citizens of New Hampshire,
Four days ago, I was across the street for a gun rally on the steps of the
Capitol. I had never been to a gun rally before. I expected it to be all
about hunters and guns. I was surprised: People were not afraid of not being
able to hunt. They were not afraid of criminals at all. Do you know who they
were afraid of? The Federal Government. I was shocked. They were afraid of
the government taking away their freedoms.
The reason I went to the rally in the first place was that I heard children,
like me, talking with President Obama about guns on the radio. I think those
kids were far too young to make policy, and got it all wrong.
Naturally, I don't want my mom or dad to die either, nor my friends or
family. But I learned in school that the First Amendment gives us our Basic
Freedoms, like Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion and Freedom to
Assemble. To protect our God-given rights, our Founders gave us the 2nd
Amendment: The Right to Bear Arms.
My Civics teacher taught us that the reason our Founding Fathers gave us the
right to bear arms is to protect ourselves from the government of man
because when man is given absolute power, he becomes absolutely corrupt. In
1776, guns freed us from the abuses of King George. Today, guns keep us free
from tyranny by government.
If President Obama wants to take our guns, isn't he taking away our means to
protect our right to freedom? Wasn't the 2nd Amendment given to us to
protect our 1st Amendment rights? It's not by chance that those are the
first two amendments. They were the two most important gifts our Founders
gave the American people.
I don't know. I'm just a 14 year old girl, and that's what I thought I
learned in school. Did Mr. Obama learn something different in school than
that?
I think it is terrible for someone to use a national tragedy for political
gain, don't you? So, when I heard Mr. Obama issued 23 gun control orders in
the wake of the Newtown tragedy, I was upset. In school I was taught
executive means to execute laws -- not make them. When did that change?
Didn't the president swear an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution? Doesn't
the 2nd Amendment state: "the right for people to keep and bear arms shall
not be infringed." ˇ Tell me how 23 orders on gun control is not an
infringement. Can someone please tell me that? Has King George returned?
I hope New Hampshire members of congress remember their pledge and do not
use this tragedy to create unjust laws.
So I ask myself, what gun would our Founders want their citizen militia to
have today to protect us from a government greedy for power. I think Thomas
Jefferson would recommend a semi-automatic rifle with 50-round clips, and
pistols that hold 20. But, I'm sure George Washington would demand these
arms.
Just so you know, I don't even own a gun, nor does my mom, or dad. But when
I'm old enough, I want the right to buy a gun if I want to, so I can protect
the America that I love. I hope I never need one, but I always say, "Plan
for the worst and hope for the best". Unfortunately, that's sort of why the
government is taking away our guns: they are planning for the worst
Americans, and not thinking of the best. Maybe the question we should be
asking is what caused the morality of the United States to decay? Are
parents no longer teaching their kids "thou shalt not kill?"
I want to live in an America with laws that protect the best people on
Earth, not the worst, don't you? Wouldn't that be more free? Wouldn't that
be more American? Isn't freedom what America is all about? The right to bear
arms is our best guarantee to live free.
Finally, at my track meet at UNH on Sunday, I read the banner on the wall.
It said three words: Tradition. Pride. Excellence. I hope and pray that New
Hampshire will continue its tradition of excellence and lead the way for the
rest of the county, and never infringe on my rights. May the people of the
great state of New Hampshire carry on their long tradition of freedom, so we
can proclaim with pride the words our forefathers gave us: Live Free or Die!
This is our United States. This is our New Hampshire. And that should never
change.
Live Free or Die, New Hampshire!
Thank you,
Daphne Jordan
Nottingham, NH
14 Years old
January 19, 2013
My 14 year old daughter, Daphne, and I went to a gun rally at the NH Capitol
in Concord on Saturday, Jan 19, 2013. I don't even own a gun, but I'm a
strong believer in the Constitution and the wisdom of our Founders
especially when it comes to government taking away our freedoms, and I don't
like the direction Obam...a is taking the country on that issue. You know,
America, land of the free, and all the core strengths that made America
great.
I made up a bunch of signs and Daphne prepared a letter before the rally,
thinking she might hand it out to anyone who was interested. While attending
the rally, Daphne noticed that the speaker had stopped talking and that he
was handing the bullhorn to anyone who wanted to speak. She pointed that out
to me, and soon she went over to the Capitol steps, got in line, and waited
for her turn. After fighting her way to the front of the line, she stood
there, on the steps of the NH State Capitol, and read a shorter version of
the letter below.
She brought the house down.
After the cheers had died down, dozens of people shook her hand and
congratulated her. A couple of reporters interviewed her briefly and other
photographers took her picture. Just before she left, a representative from
the New Hampshire Assembly talked to her and asked if she could come and
speak at a hearing on gun control on Tuesday, Jan 22, 2013. Daphne said,
Sure.
On Tuesday, we picked her up from school at 12:00 noon and drove to Concord.
We found our way to the Legislative Assembly Hall, Room 204. The room was
packed and there was a line down the hall and around two corners. Soon, they
moved the meeting to another room. The second room also proved too small.
Finally, they sent us across the street, up to the large chamber in the
Capitol Building.
The room was near capacity. About ninety-five percent of the people were pro
2nd Amendment rights. The Representatives and PACs got to speak first, then
the common folk. Daphne was in the first 10 folks to speak who were not
representing a group. She was poised, though a little nervous, and spoke
clearly to the crowd. When she was done, she brought a copy of her speech to
the front of the chamber where the representatives were sitting, and they
fought over who would get to take it from her. The moderator had previously
silenced the hall from cheering or clapping, but people told her they would
have cheered if they could as they shook her hand on the way out. The whole
proceeding took more than 3 hours.
TRANSCRIPT:
Delivered to the New Hampshire Legislative Assembly
January 22, 2013
Dear citizens of New Hampshire,
Four days ago, I was across the street for a gun rally on the steps of the
Capitol. I had never been to a gun rally before. I expected it to be all
about hunters and guns. I was surprised: People were not afraid of not being
able to hunt. They were not afraid of criminals at all. Do you know who they
were afraid of? The Federal Government. I was shocked. They were afraid of
the government taking away their freedoms.
The reason I went to the rally in the first place was that I heard children,
like me, talking with President Obama about guns on the radio. I think those
kids were far too young to make policy, and got it all wrong.
Naturally, I don't want my mom or dad to die either, nor my friends or
family. But I learned in school that the First Amendment gives us our Basic
Freedoms, like Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion and Freedom to
Assemble. To protect our God-given rights, our Founders gave us the 2nd
Amendment: The Right to Bear Arms.
My Civics teacher taught us that the reason our Founding Fathers gave us the
right to bear arms is to protect ourselves from the government of man
because when man is given absolute power, he becomes absolutely corrupt. In
1776, guns freed us from the abuses of King George. Today, guns keep us free
from tyranny by government.
If President Obama wants to take our guns, isn't he taking away our means to
protect our right to freedom? Wasn't the 2nd Amendment given to us to
protect our 1st Amendment rights? It's not by chance that those are the
first two amendments. They were the two most important gifts our Founders
gave the American people.
I don't know. I'm just a 14 year old girl, and that's what I thought I
learned in school. Did Mr. Obama learn something different in school than
that?
I think it is terrible for someone to use a national tragedy for political
gain, don't you? So, when I heard Mr. Obama issued 23 gun control orders in
the wake of the Newtown tragedy, I was upset. In school I was taught
executive means to execute laws -- not make them. When did that change?
Didn't the president swear an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution? Doesn't
the 2nd Amendment state: "the right for people to keep and bear arms shall
not be infringed." ˇ Tell me how 23 orders on gun control is not an
infringement. Can someone please tell me that? Has King George returned?
I hope New Hampshire members of congress remember their pledge and do not
use this tragedy to create unjust laws.
So I ask myself, what gun would our Founders want their citizen militia to
have today to protect us from a government greedy for power. I think Thomas
Jefferson would recommend a semi-automatic rifle with 50-round clips, and
pistols that hold 20. But, I'm sure George Washington would demand these
arms.
Just so you know, I don't even own a gun, nor does my mom, or dad. But when
I'm old enough, I want the right to buy a gun if I want to, so I can protect
the America that I love. I hope I never need one, but I always say, "Plan
for the worst and hope for the best". Unfortunately, that's sort of why the
government is taking away our guns: they are planning for the worst
Americans, and not thinking of the best. Maybe the question we should be
asking is what caused the morality of the United States to decay? Are
parents no longer teaching their kids "thou shalt not kill?"
I want to live in an America with laws that protect the best people on
Earth, not the worst, don't you? Wouldn't that be more free? Wouldn't that
be more American? Isn't freedom what America is all about? The right to bear
arms is our best guarantee to live free.
Finally, at my track meet at UNH on Sunday, I read the banner on the wall.
It said three words: Tradition. Pride. Excellence. I hope and pray that New
Hampshire will continue its tradition of excellence and lead the way for the
rest of the county, and never infringe on my rights. May the people of the
great state of New Hampshire carry on their long tradition of freedom, so we
can proclaim with pride the words our forefathers gave us: Live Free or Die!
This is our United States. This is our New Hampshire. And that should never
change.
Live Free or Die, New Hampshire!
Thank you,
Daphne Jordan
Nottingham, NH
14 Years old
January 19, 2013
