My Support of the 2nd Amendment:

My Support of the 2nd Amendment:
An Honest Answer

(Written in response to a delegate’s questions)

Bob. I am glad you asked me those series of questions about my stand on several gun laws. As the first delegate to contact me, whose primary interest seems to be the protection of 2nd amendment rights, it gives me the opportunity to explain why I strongly support the second amendment, and also not to pretend to be someone I am not.

My primary focus, and the reason I have been politically active for a quarter of a century now, is to restore the Constitution of the United States so it functions as originally intended. That includes the 2nd Amendment to the Bill of Rights; which from my constitution research, I believe the primary purpose of, (along the God given natural right to defend oneself, family and property) was to secure the right of American citizens to physically challenge the government should it badly stray from its primary responsibilities – of protecting the life, liberty, and property of its citizens.

However, I don’t want to falsely portray myself as having my defense of the second amendment as my top priority, or myself as an avid collector of firearms, even though I consider the protection of the 2nd amendment crucial in protecting all the others rights outlined in the Bill of Rights,

So I will share my personal history with firearms along with a deeply personal reason I am for private citizens owning firearms.

I grew up as a secular Jew in New York City. My father died when I was four, and my mother had a “nervous breakdown” because of it, from which she never recovered. There were no guns in my home, or those of my friends’ families (as far as I know). In my early teen years, I ordered a CO2 powered BB pistol out of “Boys Life” Magazine without my family’s knowledge. One of the first things I did with it was, go up to our attic , take aim at a sparrow on a branch of a nearby tree, and to my surprise, kill it with my first shot. I climbed out on my roof, picked it up, brought it inside, and as I held its beautiful warm dead innocent body with a trace of blood coming out the edge of its beak, I was overwhelmed by remorse and self-disgust for what I had done. Besides once shooting a kitten painfully dying of parvo to put it out of its misery, I have never shot an animal again. I am aware that hunters do more to protect wildlife and its habitat than any other group, and support hunting, but it’s just not for me – at least not for now.

I have owned several firearms since becoming a Latter Day Saint and moving to Utah. I took my family target shooting, and my sons, who are adults now, own an interesting collection of firearms. However, for the last twenty years I have supported my family tuning grand pianos, mostly for recording studios, and have spent decades training my ears to hear subtle differences others can’t. Because of that, in the last few years, my hearing has become hypersensitive, to the point where I often need to cover my ears in the presence of loud noises, even when others applaud around me. Shooting firearms also now hurts my ears, even when wearing protective shooting earplugs and earmuffs at the same time.

So recently, I sold my last personal firearms, an UZI and Judge revolver, and replaced them with a PCP 25 cal. Gauntlet air rifle, and have pre-ordered a PCP powered anti-shark harpoon pistol, called a “Scuba Ringer MKII” which I plan to open carry as I sign businesses up to accept Goldbacks (goldback.com) which is my new side job, since I retired from piano tuning when I started my campaign for the U.S. Senate. I love how quiet, lethal, and accurate my PCP weapons are. I can shoot hole through hole 4 out of 5 times at 100 yards with my 25 cal. Rifle, and the cost of my ammo is always a few pennies per round. Plus, since PCP’s are not classified as firearms, there is never a background check for them. I can buy silencers for them, and even buy fully automatic versions without having to apply for, or buy permits, or even let the government know I have purchased one.

Finally, on a personal note as a Jew, I am keenly aware that one of the first things Hitler did when assuming power was to ban and confiscate personal firearms, how Jews being banned from owning firearms in Europe left them vunerable to genocide, and how important an armed citizenry has been to the establishment and preservation of the State of Israel. I also read John Lott’s Book “More Guns, Less Crime” and believe he is entirely correct in his thesis.

So hopefully now you know where I stand in principle, and personally, with respect to the 2nd amendment and firearm ownership. On an afternote, even though I can no longer tolerate the bang of a firearm, I am considering buying a tactical shotgun, just because I think I should have one, even if I never fire it.

Sincerely Yours,
Jeremy Friedbaum
RepublicanCandidate for the U.S. Senate