Dear Ladies and Gentlemen:

This morning’s lead editorial ("Get Tougher With Hidden Guns") contains the following sentence: "We also understand that the Second Amendment permits citizens to bear arms (emphasis added)." Although this characterization of the Second Amendment’s effect and purpose is fundamentally wrong, it inadvertently illuminates The Kansas City Star’s position on many issues: The Kansas City Star’s editorial board simply does not understand the American system of constitutional government.

The Second Amendment no more "permits" citizens to bear arms than the First Amendment "permits" free speech or a free press. The Bill of Rights confers no rights upon the people. Instead it forbids government from violating fundamental rights belonging to every human being from birth; rights that are unalienable; rights that government may not alter or dilute; natural rights that precede and are superior to the power of any government.

The founding fathers established a nation on the principle that the people are sovereign and that their rights are inviolable by government. In contrast, Socialists, Nazis, and other assorted despots imagine that the people are state property, possessing only those rights "permitted" by their masters in government. That The Kansas City Star’s editorial board does not appear to understand this most fundamental of American principles is astonishing.

Sincerely,

Frank J. Brady