My speech from today's rally. I was SO impressed with the number that turned out in spite of the weather. A very inspiring afternoon!
By the will of the people, we amended our state constitution. To declare, to clarify and to establish as our will, what we as citizens embrace and demand of our elected representatives.
Have you read it? Are you familiar with it?
"All persons are by nature free and independent and have certain inherent and inalienable rights; among these are life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and the right to keep and bear arms for security or defense of self, family, home, and others, and for lawful common defense, hunting, recreational use, and all other lawful purposes, and such rights shall not be denied or infringed by the state or any subdivision thereof. To secure these rights, and the protection of property, governments are instituted among people, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."
Citizens of Nebraska, we have a Unicameral, comprised of Senators elected by the districts in our state. But YOU are the first House. You are your own Representative. You are empowered and accountable for the work that in other states is done by elected individuals.
For too long, we have assumed that our values and traditions would remain respected and upheld and considered in the drafting, debating and enacting of legislation that represents the will of the people.
For too long, we have assumed that logic, reason and our constitution would be enough to temper and restrict any efforts to infringe on our civil rights and yet our freedoms in Nebraska are left to face a tempest of ignorance.
We are surrounded by states with far more enumerated freedom. We are at the mercy of elected senators who deem themselves above the constitution and the will of the majority. But why is that?
Because we are silent, we are unseen, we are no risk to their tenure in elected office.
We have allowed those who have no sense of personal responsibility, who wish to be coddled by an ineffective government to protect them and our children, to paint, shape and control the narrative. By sitting back and staying out of the fray, we have allowed city councils, school boards and our Unicameral to ignore the mandate of Article 1, Section 1 of our Constitution. We have permitted them to set up landmines of infringements that prohibit you, as a law abiding citizen the right to own, possess and use when necessary the tools that protect you, your loved ones and your communities.
The firearms community represented by the Nebraska Firearms Owners Association is vast, is found across all counties in our state and we fight every day for you. We join forces with other organizations to educate our elected officials, to present testimony, to correct falsehoods and to counter the rising tide against us. But we are simply citizens, like you, with lives, with jobs, with children and community obligations. We face an enemy emboldened by the media, financed by billionaires, supported by corporations all of whom simply wish to create a new world order where the power of the people is manipulated and controlled.
We cannot sit back any longer and go on with our lives, venting on social media, at the dinner table and in gatherings with those like us. We must take our energy and time and focus together, as a unified voice, to counter and shift the direction our state and this country is going.
Join us today. Make a commitment to your future, and to the future we will create for our children.
Add your voice to the NFOA and to these other organizations who have joined forces here today. Learn how to be an effective representative of the 2nd Amendment and the traditions and values you hold sacred. Develop a relationship with your elected officials. Show up at hearings of your city council. Show up to meetings of your school board. Show up at rallies for those running for office. Make your voice heard. Write letters and make phone calls. Now is the time to take a stand. To commit to this battle and the wars to come.
Because if not you, who?
Because if not now, when?
For one day, the tides will have turned, and it will be too late.
