An Arizona GOPer kicked off a metaphysical debate in the state legislature last week over whether God bestowed Americans with the right to bear arms.
Discussing two gun bills, HB 2320 and 2431, Rep. Eddie Farnsworth (R) said that the Second Amendment supplies “God-given rights” to defend oneself, in a video flagged by the Phoenix New Times.
Rep. Sally Ann Gonzales (D) rose to oppose one of the bills, and threw in a note of correction to her colleague’s statement about the divine.
“Twice on this floor I’ve heard members say that I have the God-given right to bear arms, and since I know that God didn’t write the Constitution, I just wanted to state that,” she said. “And I vote no.”
In between the ongoing exchange between Farnsworth and Gonzales, other lawmakers jumped in.
“Humans, great humans, wrote the Constitution,” another lawmaker said. “Human beings have done this. Great, courageous human beings.”
Responding to Gonzales, Farnsworth proceeded to read not from the Constitution but from the Declaration of Independence. He pointed out that “those who penned this” believed that Americans are “endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights.”
“They believed that God gave them to us,” he said. “And that’s what the Second Amendment defends, is our God-given right to protect our life, that God gave to us.”
As for the bills themselves: HB 2320 exempts an individual with a concealed carry permit from removing his or her firearm when entering a public establishment, with certain caveats.
HB 2431 allows two or more states to enter into a compact that allows transfer of firearms so long as they are unimpeded by any federal law.
Watch the video:
