"BEING A NEW Congressman," Rep. David S. King (UT) wrote, "I have not as yet had any opportunity to learn enough about the issues involved with the Second Amendment to speak with any conviction on the matter one way or the other."
Really? Then how in the world did this guy ever get elected, and what made him--and more importantly, his constituents--think he was qualified and competent to be entrusted with power to legislate legitimately?
King was writing in response to GUNS Magazine's "Know Your Lawmakers," a regular feature in the magazine where politicians responded to a request to give their view on the right to keep and bear arms.
Did I mention King wrote this 50 years ago? Every month, GUNS posts issues from half a century before on its website, giving us a great window into a past some of us are old enough to remember (See "Related Articles," below). A free download of the September 1960 issue is now online.
One of the regular features from that era was "Know Your Lawmakers," where those who were supposed to represent us got a chance to show how well they understood their duties and how faithfully they executed their oaths of office. Here are some highlights from this issue:
Showing he understood was Rep. Richard E. Lankford, of Maryland of all places, and, as I found by looking his name up, a Democrat to boot:
THE REASONS behind the Second Amendment are as valid today as they were when the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution. It is part of our tradition to keep as few professional soldiers on active duty as is considered side and to depend on trained volunteers to fill out the ranks in the event of an emergency. These "minutemen" must be capable of handling firearms if they are to be effective. For this and other reasons, we should take no steps which would infringe the right to keep and bear small arms.
On the same side of the aisle but the other side of the equation was James G. O'Hara of Michigan:
HISTORY HAS largely eroded away the purpose of the Second Amendment and its significance. In yesterday's world a free people had to keep and bear arms to protect themselves from the Indians and to avoid the need for the existence of a large standing army. Like the Third Amendment forbidding the quartering of soldiers "in any house," the Second Amendment reflects the peculiar needs of the American people in a particular period of our history.
And then there was the congressman from Vermont, who proposed "the gun and bullets fired from it can be traced to the purchaser."
Or the...but you get the idea. Read the rest on page 4.
How?
Click here to download the September 1960 issue of GUNS Magazine. I note you can also still read the January through August issues, and you can read my reviews on these issues by clicking on the "Related Articles" links below. And copies of complete magazines for years 1955 though 1957 are available for purchase on CD-ROM.
Then enjoy the rest of the magazine, including the "Crossfire" letters to the editor (imagine that, a "pro-gun" newspaper editorial, and a bewildered 15-year-old shooter wondering "where they get this stuff about guns causing juvenile delinquency").
There's plenty more. Learn from the legendary Elmer Keith. Meet "a man named Smith" (W.H.B.), and see how to make "a Rifleman rifle." Guns, hunting, handloading, Olympic shooting, collecting...
And, of course, enjoy the classic period ads with the classic period prices (anybody know what happened to Centennial Arms Corporation, selling handguns from their facility in Chicago?)
I hope you get as much enlightenment and reading pleasure from these past issues as I do. If so, why not do your friends a favor and let them know about this?
Related Articles:
- Lawmakers split on Second Amendment
- Foremost psychologist calls New York City's gun laws 'work of desperate people'
- Some politicians dodge gun question in magazine survey
- Prominent liberal Democrat shows good understanding of Second Amendment
- Punishment for armed self-defense still the norm in NYC and DC
- Extremist' pol: armed Americans can resist tyranny and defend nation
- Hatriots' laud armed citizens as deterrent to government gun grab
- Gun-savvy citizen shoots hostage-takers, saves family and police chief
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Comments
This is Robert- Shows that the more things supposedly change the more they stay the same. No different with politicians either. There will always be those that would give away our freedoms if it meant more control and power for them. Maybe this article should serve as a wake up call to America to really change it's political system and become a more localized group of governments.
I love to read these old magazines. The ads are just fascinating. The prices back then, and you could order through the mail. Those were the good old days. Keep up the great work you do.
David your article proves that politics and politicians are universally corrupt regardless of the era!
And WOW!
Look at the prices on those bolt rifles in 1960; $9.95 plus shipping and you get a nice rifle.
David you should have seen what $30.00 would have bought you back in 1960-1968.
Companies sold shotguns with walnut stocks that today would be considered custom and sell for $800-1000
David we could buy those guns through the mail NO background checks or 4473 forms.
You know what else David back then we didn’t worry about locking our doors either, crime was that low.
I wonder why we can’t buy through the mail any more?
Oh I remember it was the NRA and their support for the 68GCA
Perhaps with Daley gone you can get rid of your FOID's and quit whining about the meanies in the NRA.
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