By Greg Campbell
TPNN Contributor
All across the country, conservatives have been mounting an impressive resistance to what they claim is a government intrusion on our Constitutional rights. As leaders in Washington work to enact sweeping gun control laws, many across the country are looking to save their Second Amendment rights by utilizing those provided by the First Amendment.
Whereas some in the mainstream media would have America believe that those who fear the government are the fringe, it turns out, according to a recent Pew poll, those with a distrust of the government are in the majority.
It is no secret even to the most casual observer of politics that America finds itself deeply divided on a wide range of issues. As Americans debate these issues, none seem to elicit such impassioned responses as that of gun rights issues.
On February 23rd, gun rights activists all across the country are mounting what they call the Day of Resistance- a day filled with rallies and protests all across the country, put on by organizers and groups who fear that government overreach threatens their Second Amendment rights.
And they aren’t the only ones…
According to a recent comprehensive Pew Research Center poll, 53% of Americans now believe that the government is a threat to personal rights. 43% disagree. A whopping three-in-ten believe that government constitutes a major threat.
According to Politico:
“Men are more likely than women to believe their rights are under attack, and Republicans (70 percent) are far more likely than Democrats (38 percent) to say so. Three-quarters of conservative Republicans say so, as do 55 percent of independents. And as President Barack Obama begins a legislative push for stricter gun control laws, 62 percent of those with a gun in the home believe their rights are threatened, compared to only 45 percent of non-gun owners.
And even Americans who don’t feel threatened by Washington distrust the government and are frustrated with it. Only 26 percent of Americans believe the government does the right thing most or all of the time, and 73 percent think it does the right thing rarely or not at all.”
These numbers are significant. While 53% say that the government poses a threat to their rights, it should be noted that the same question posed in 2003 saw only 45% say that the government posed a threat. In short: it appears that this problem is worsening.
As more than half of Americans view government as a threat to their rights, it seems that there is a growing divide between this government by, of, and for the people and the people themselves.
