Some argue that the Second Amendment does not make firearm ownership a right when, really, its not about that. The true heart of the Second Amendment is protection of the natural rights of the people. It ensures the right of self-preservation and acts as a means to secure that right.

This right of self-preservation was described by John Locke in his 1690 Second Treatise on Government, from which the Framers drew heavily. In his treatise, Locke argues that this fundamental right of self-preservation allows the people to live freely without interference from any person or anything, including government.

Its important to understand this point. Many of the Framers were students of Lockes philosophical thinking and other philosophers of the time. It is ingrained into the very fabric of the Bill of Rights.

This thinking even influenced Alexander Hamilton when he wrote Federalist No. 28 that If the representatives of the people betray their constituents, there is then no resource left but in the exertion of that original right of self-defense which is paramount to all positive forms of government.

The Second Amendment is not a right bestowed by the government to the people. Quite the opposite. It secures the peoples natural right of self-preservation from any person and anything that might wish to rob the people of their liberty or other natural rights, including their government.

To think that we, free men and women, must ask the permission of our government for the right of self-preservation is simply ludicrous.

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Opinion/Letter: 2nd Amendment confirms existing right - The Daily Progress