Letters to the Editor

Our Inalienable Rights Must Be Protected

Regarding the continuing controversy about the Second Amendment, consider the matter as understood, defined and determined by the Founding Fathers. The right to keep and bear arms is not just a “privilege,” but a right. Not only is it a “right,” but it is an “inalienable right”. “Inalienable,” according to the dictionary, means “incapable of being alienated, surrendered, or transferred (as by rights).”

The right to keep and bear arms cannot be taken away from you by government or anyone else.  The Constitution declares that this right is given by God to free men, and recognized and affirmed by Congress along with certain other inalienable rights.  This dispute should have been settled long ago.  The Supreme Court has ruled that this right belongs to not only the “militia” but the individual American citizen.

A “privilege” is defined as “a right or immunity granted as a peculiar benefit, advantage, or favor.”  Both “privileges” and “rights” may be granted by a governing body, but they are not “inalienable” rights. Both may be taken away or withdrawn as often, and as lightly, as they were bestowed or conferred. States may grant certain privileges such as driving and voting but certain other rights are exclusively the province of the federal government, such as citizenship.

Yes, guns are misused by the criminal element. We will remember, though, that judges routinely dismiss charges from a defendant in whose case a minor discrepancy was found in the paperwork. The judge knows that the murderer or rapist will go free to kill and rape again, but he- or she- holds the law so sacred that it must be protected, no matter the cost to society. Our inalienable rights must be as well protected.

The purpose and duty of the federal government is to provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and to secure the blessings of liberty so that a government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth.

The federal government and all other governing bodies- who have all sworn to uphold and protect the Constitution and the Bill of Rights- should be defending and protecting our Second Amendment rights tirelessly and aggressively.  The threat to the Second Amendment is real and all governments should be willing to go to court- or even to war- to defend our rights, our freedom and our liberty.  Our right to defend our homes, families and country comes from God.

Someday our inalienable rights won on many battlefields drenched in American blood may have to be won again the same way.

Patrick James Smith

Keysville, Va.

Student Supports Current Charlotte County
Schools’ Teachers and Administration

My name is Mitchell Davis, and I am a student of Randolph-Henry High School, the Governor’s School of Southside Virginia, and a future student of Yale University. The first of these three descriptors is the most important to me. Throughout the years I have been active in Charlotte County Public Schools, as a student and a member of multiple clubs. There are few aspects of the school I have not seen, as I have been involved with Scholastic Bowl, Band, Forensics, Youth and Government, and this year have even involved myself in the Athletics side of things. Due to these factors, I believe that I am qualified to speak on the state of the school system, and I would like to throw in my support for the teachers and the administration that have supported me throughout the years.

The teachers and administration throughout the eight years I have been a part of the Charlotte County Public School System are who I credit with my ambition and success. Without their support, it is very likely that I would have achieved anything. From the awkward boy who arrived from Loudoun County in 2009, they have created a confident, involved man. This isn’t solely about me; through the eyes of my friends I have seen this sentiment reflected. I have seen such metamorphoses as to challenge a butterfly.

A few weeks ago, I was in the School Board chamber getting recognized for my acceptance to Yale. This was a great honor, and yet I saw the very people responsible for getting me to this position frightened at the prospect of losing their jobs. I have heard whispers of fear and discontent among this extended family that raised me nearly as much as my parents have, and it concerned me. We in Charlotte County have one of the greatest school systems in the district, with some of the most dedicated (yet underpaid) teachers I have ever met. These teachers (and administrators) are responsible for the success of my peers and myself, and I know that very few of my peers are discontent with their teachers or the administration of our schools, as we have all excelled. There is a reason that my parents chose to send me to Charlotte County for my education rather than Prince Edward where I live. We have a strong, caring staff that supports the interests of their charges with a brand of zeal formerly unknown to my family and me.

I would like to ask the School Board to not only assuage the fears of these employees that have grown to be synonymous with both my heart and the hearts of my peers, but to support them in what they do and to care for them like a family. Our teachers and administrators are some of the lowest paid of the surrounding counties, and yet we are one of the most successful school systems. We have captured lightning in a bottle, and I urge everyone in the county to work for its preservation, not its destruction.

Mitchell Davis

Darlington Heights, VA