FRANK E. VINCENT, Hermiston

U.S. citizens are the benefactors of the Constitution. We have the right and the duty "keep and bear arms." Why was the Second Amendment so important that it was listed before all the remaining amendments? Because it was the hammer given to the people, if necessary, to protect us from governmental tyranny.

"A well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the Right of the People to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." Not the enacted government enforcement, but the people.

As George Mason stated; "I ask sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people. To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them." We have officials in our elected government who have disregarded the Constitution and stated it is only a piece of history that should be considered no more than a "living document," requiring constant changes.

Through the last 200-plus years, our countrymen and women have fought and died for our constitutional rights because they could envision the threats of servitude and autocracy. Our Founding Fathers looked forward for us, the benefactors, as they penned the Constitution.