The readers of Bearing Arms are not shocked and awed by reading what we’ll call “gun stuff.” Obviously, we come to such sites with the intention of taking in the latest on firearms and liberty. Not all of us agree on everything, but the chasm between what I’ll call “our” ideology and the ideologies of a rabid anti-gunner, is the equivalent of the Grand Canyon. Our differences might be a drainage culvert at most. It’s so important that the basic truths that we accept within our DNA as gun people also get out of our echo chambers and to more people that need to learn the facts. I ran into a very interesting piece by Cheryl Todd, a DC Project State Director, businesswoman, and 2A media personality – to name a few of her hats.

The article, “Two Truths And A Lie: What Does The 2nd Amendment Say?” was published by the Independent Women’s Forum. Todd is listed as a visiting fellow with the organization, and this article is her third under their banner. IWF takes the perspective that “all issues are women’s issues,” and through their published articles, they tackle some of the most important topics in the United States today. Todd bringing Second Amendment facts to conservative readers who aren’t necessarily “gun people” is important.

Much has been said, debated, pontificated, blustered, and raged about the Second Amendment in the U.S. Bill of Rights. Major news media, political talking points, and even official speeches delivered by the President of the United States are filled with confusing and contradictory rhetoric posing as factual information. Quiz yourself and your friends with this “Two Truths and a Lie.” Can you spot what is true and what is not?

1. The Second Amendment refers specifically to the right to keep and bear guns. 
2. The Second Amendment is the only place in the U.S. Bill of Rights that includes the clause “shall not be infringed.” 
3. The Second Amendment refers to the “right of the people.”

Todd’s Second Amendment twist on the popular series the organization has, “Two Truths And A Lie,” brings up the exact kind of information that we need to get to fence-sitters or those who are just outright misinformed. I’m not going to spoil which is which from the above list, but our steely-eyed readers I’m certain can pick out the lie.

I reached out to Todd about this because I think what she’s doing is important. We chatted a bit and she spoke to me about her “why” and involvement with IWF. “Complacency has allowed an information vacuum that dishonest messengers are all too happy to fill,” Todd told me. She continued:

Those of us who still hold these truths to be self-evident, as did our Founders when they declared Independence from the tyranny and crushing boot of Big Government, no longer have any margin to abdicate our responsibilities to protect and preserve our sacred inheritance of freedom. Not the least of which is the right to keep and bear arms.

Read for yourself our Founding Documents. Do not let anyone else interpret the Declaration of Independence for you. Understand why citizens took such a bold step. Do not allow a revisionist-history version of the Constitution of the United States of America to confuse your understanding of the herculean feat it was for Federalists and Anti-Federalists to wrestle and debate in order to create a document that shaped a new nation and has guided it for nearly 300 years. Do not give mental energy to those who try to convince you that the Bill of Rights gives us our rights, rather than enumerating natural and God-given rights inherent to all US Citizens.

Todd is bridging a gap that can be between some conservatism and the Second Amendment in her own way. She is breaking boundaries and barriers by getting our message out to others who need to have the same appreciation for the right – or enthusiasm. Todd’s view is pragmatic, and very much so alighted with anyone can make a difference. She ended our conversation with that observation about the power of one, “You and I are the best hope our nation has. Begin reading and studying today. And then live out your values toward Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

The powerful female voices of the Second Amendment community never cease to amaze me. Something that was once relegated to the dust and tobacco spit-covered corners of stale, male, and pale, is becoming normalized within our society. There has been an explosion of interest in firearms among women, minorities, and marginalized communities in the last few years. Ambassadors like Todd are helping out by carrying the banner into uncharted territories and displacing many of the astroturf mistruths and lies.