This is a response to the Rev. Raymond Anderson’s letter on March 15 concerning my appearance at a Second Amendment rally.

I was saddened to read the letter. How has our nation come to the place where standing for the Bill of Rights, rights our founders said came from our Creator, is seen as “appalling”?

One of the last things Jesus told his followers to do was to buy a sword for protection (Luke 22:36). The Bible is filled with great heroes who fought for liberty and ended oppression, including David, Samson, Moses, Abraham and even Jesus, who will return leading the armies of heaven to restore this world back to Garden of Eden conditions (Rev 19:1-16).

Support of our great Constitution and Bill of Rights does not make us mean, violent people. Neither is it appalling. Even the Declaration of Independence recognizes that “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Our founders knew that the only way our lives, liberties and happiness would be preserved is by preserving our ability to defend ourselves against tyranny.

Today, it may be fashionable to think of our Bill of Rights as an outdated document written by violent, bloodthirsty men. It may be popular to think of those who stand for those rights as primitive social embarrassments.

I, however, will never apologize for standing for our Constitution and Bill of Rights. I thank God I live in the greatest nation on earth today. No, standing for our rights is not an embarrassment, and I am proud to be an American.

Jeremy Hiltz

Chelsea