by Sue Forde
According to USHistory.org: Minutemen were a small hand-picked elite force which were required to be highly mobile and able to assemble quickly.
Minutemen were selected from militia muster rolls by their commanding officers. Typically 25 years of age or younger, they were chosen for their enthusiasm, reliability, and physical strength.
Usually about one quarter of the militia served as Minutemen, performing additional duties as such.
The Minutemen were the first armed militia to arrive or await a battle. In other words, the “front guard” – ready to defend and protect their community. And they certainly could not defend and protect their community without guns (muskets)! The 2nd amendment in the Bill of Rights in our U.S. Constitution gives each of us as citizens the right to bear arms. There are myriads of stories about how this right has saved lives in communities across our great nation.
Now, according to a story in the local newspaper, Port Angeles Mayor Sissi Bruch wants to remove the essence of the symbol of the minutemen – their muskets. (Gates have been placed at the entrance of the Park to help protect the bell from vandalism with two minutemen a part of those gates. The fence includes two representations of minutemen with muskets and 13 stars standing for the original 13 colonies of the United States.)
It’s a slap in the face of county citizens and especially our veterans by Mayor Bruch – as those silent representations of minutemen stand guard over what is the precious symbol of these United States – the liberty bell replica at the Port Angeles Veterans Memorial Park – even as our veterans have stood guard and defended our nation for so many years, and why we are a strong nation!
According to the local newspaper, “Bruch says in a memo in the agenda packet for the council’s meeting that the “two decorative outlines of soldiers with guns” have drawn objections…“We can use other symbols…The symbols should be of the democracy that veterans defend rather than the “tools of violence” they use to do so.”
Democracy? Really? We are not a democracy; we are a constitutional republic. (For more about that topic, watch this short video by David Barton.)
This is a microcosm of what’s happening across the nation – and it needs to be reversed. The assault on gun ownership by individuals is fueled by little assaults, pressing forward the suggestion that guns cause violence. (I’ve yet to see a gun get up off a table and shoot anyone – it’s people who cause violence.)
It will be interesting to hear the take of other representatives of the people about this issue, from the city council members all the way to our state representatives, Steve Tharinger, Mike Chapman and Kevin VandeWege.
We need to work hard to elect true representatives of the “people” – those who will defend our individual rights instead of trying to be “politically correct” in line with the socialists who are pressing forward to remove those God-given rights.
Do you stand strong for our Second Amendment rights? Get active and involved with the local Republican Party – join us to help change the direction of the current legislative majority at the state and federal levels.
A brief history and discussion about the various forms of government.
