By Jon Ward

The times we are living in today are a bit scary, or at the very least, quite concerning. We are witnessing the makings of an historical event that could alter our country’s history. What event am I referring too? It is the undying determination of the Democratic party to chip away at our Constitution and abolish the rights and liberties that this country was founded on.

I am specifically referring to all of the “gun law” proposals that have been brought up recently by the Democrats in our commonwealth. When have you ever seen a time when you have had so many individual municipalities acting on their own accord, making resolutions to uphold the Constitution out of fear of what our government is doing? It is a sad day when so many people fear what our government and elected officials are doing to destroy our freedoms and liberties.

I am very proud of our City Council in Suffolk for their recent changes to the wording of the Constitutional City resolution. I believe that the citizens of our great city made their voices loud and clear when it came to voicing their concerns over the dangers going on in Richmond. Suffolk City Council chose to join in with so many other municipalities to make a statement that we are not going to stand for anyone infringing upon our constitutional rights.

What is alarming, though, is the fact that the Democratic Party seems to have forgotten our history in this country and is setting the stage for that history to repeat itself. They are becoming the very tyrants that this country was formed to get away from, and, without resistance from our citizens, they may very well succeed.

One of the country’s founding fathers, and a Virginia resident, was Thomas Jefferson. He is a widely known and popular individual due to him drafting the Declaration of Independence and being our 3^rd President. He has been widely praised for his scholastic ability and made it well known that he believed in our right to bear arms.

One of Jefferson’s quotes was “Laws that forbid the carrying of arms…disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes…Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants: they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.”

Doesn’t this quote sound an awful lot like it applies in today’s society? All of the church and school shootings that have taken place could have be prevented or lessened if our rights were not so infringed. Jefferson again in a letter to William S. Smith in 1787 wrote, “And what country can preserve its liberties, if its rulers are not warned from time to time that this people preserve the spirit or resistance? Let them take arms…The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”

Now this quote is ringing loud and clear with the protests that recently happened at our state capital. Citizens from all over converged on our state’s capital to remind our elected leaders that we will not stand for their blatant attacks on our rights and liberties. As Thomas Jefferson said, “All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.”

I am very proud of everyone that participated in the protests in Richmond, whether it was in person or in spirit, we have reminded our elected leaders that they are not above the law nor are they above the Constitution.

So, to all of my fellow citizens in the city of Suffolk and throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia, rise up and continue the fight by making your voices heard. The rest of the country will be watching what happens in our great Commonwealth.

Jon Ward is a Suffolk resident. Email him at Jon1974Ward@aol.com.