The question is this: Can the Second Amendment hold up before a freewheeling and possibly rigged debate? Should a defender of Liberty enter a situation where he or she is unfairly targeted and present their ideas to a potentially hostile audience, hopefully winning some over? While we believe that the truth ultimately prevails, the National Rifle Association declined to send a spokesman to defend its views on firearms to Barack Obama’s face. CNN is scheduled to hold a town hall event with the chief executive to talk about the issue of “gun violence” in Virginia Thursday night. But as the NRA told the network through its spokesman Andrew Arulanandam, “The National Rifle Association sees no reason to participate in a public relations spectacle orchestrated by the White House.” They’re absolutely right about Obama’s intentions, but perhaps this was also a jab at CNN, which regularly carries water for the administration. But in a way it’s a lost opportunity. Now, more than ever, Americans need to hear that owning a firearm is not only not bad, but good. It’s participating in American government.

As David French so aptly wrote in his response to Obama crying while announcing his executive orders on gun control, “Gun ownership goes to the heart of what it means to be a responsible citizen in our constitutional republic. It goes to the heart of what it means to be a responsible parent or spouse. It isn’t merely about hunting, or the joy of an afternoon at the firing range, or ‘looking tough.’ It isn’t about fear. It’s about autonomy, independence, and a deep and self-sacrificial regard for the lives of those you love. It’s about exercising the fundamental human right to defend oneself and others.”

What would Obama have to say to that?