“As one of the thirteen original colonies, North Carolina maintains the moral and legal concept that the right to keep and bear sporting arms is one of the fundamental privileges granted by our American Democracy,” North Carolina Governor Terry Sanford informed GUNS Magazine when asked for a public comment on his stance on the issue.
“This privilege should be infringed upon only when deemed necessary, through the will of the people in a democratic action, to insure public safety or to prescribe the manner of taking game,” he continued. “We do not anticipate any legislation abrogating these premises.”
No, but anticipate it or not, defining a fundamental right as a granted privilege subject to majority consensus on something as nebulous as “public safety” opens the door for literally anything those who want to abridge those rights can think up and manipulate public opinion on. Presumably, Gov. Sanford would also have no objection if enough voters could be bamboozled into backing a state-imposed religion or no religion at all, or prohibitions on free speech, or the lifting of them on warrantless searches or cruel and unusual punishment…
But wait a second: Terry Sanford? North Carolina’s governor is Bev Perdue. Sanford gave up that office back in ’65.
Regular Gun Rights Examiner readers know that every month, GUNS, the magazine I write the "Rights Watch" column for, posts the corresponding monthly issue from 50 years ago as a free download on its website, giving us a fascinating window into a past some of us are old enough to remember.
A regular feature in those days was “Know Your Lawmakers,” where prominent politicians were asked to share their views on the right to keep and bear arms with the magazine’s readers. Some would do stellar jobs, such as the proper understanding (that is, one that today would be branded "extremist" by the gungrabbers) articulated by John F. Kennedy and Hubert H. Humphrey. Others? Like Sanford, not so well.
His response, along with those from several other office holders, was printed in the February 1962 issue. Understanding the political sentiment from half a century ago gives insight into how things have been allowed to degrade since then—kind of a “those who do not learn from the past” sort of thing. Plus, the entire magazine is a trip, from classic period ads at classic period prices, to articles on firearms, shooting, hunting, reloading…and don’t forget the “Crossfire” letters to the editor: in this issue, there’s a scathing and witty one by Ralland Fortier of Flint, Michigan to “Senator Pell of Rhode Island” that really puts a wayward political hoplophobe in his place.
Click here to read the February 1962 issue of GUNS Magazine, as well as all editions posted since the magazine’s debut in January 1955.
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Remember and revere the name of Don Alejo Garza Tamez
Why?
Read “Mexican Standoff,” my latest GUNS Magazine “Rights Watch” column and find out.
Then vow to do what you can to honor the memory of men like him who live by a code of principle, honor, courage and dignity by not tolerating the inhuman scum—both in and out of government— who would strip those from us.
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Disclosure: Guns Magazine pays me for my columns. They do not pay me for discussing their magazine in articles that appear on Examiner.com, nor request it in any way. I do this to promote my and their work to a wider readership and because I believe regular readers will find it of interest.
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