Are you SURE that's who gave it to you?

"Shockingly," the NRA opposes the Sonia Sotomayor nomination. Why, you might ask? And I would answer:

"We believe any individual who does not agree that the Second Amendment guarantees a fundamental right and who does not respect our God-given right of self-defense should not serve on any court, much less the highest court in the land," said a joint statement by Wayne LaPierre, the NRA executive vice president, and Chris W. Cox, executive director of the NRA's Institute for Legislative Reform.

Now, I don't own a gun. And I do believe that gun control can save lives. But as I've made it clear to my friends who are NRA members, own guns, and/or otherwise cling steadfastedly to their Second Amendment right, I don't really care if you want to own a gun. It doesn't bother me, especially since you're not breaking the fucking law. Whatever.

So, why do I take issue with the NRA's statement? (And what does it say about me that I accidentally typed "RNA" first?)

The right to bear arms is not a "God-given" right. Not at all. It's a right provided by the Second Amendment, which was written by a bunch of guys a long time ago. God isn't giving you the right.

I'm tired, again and again, of hearing "God" invoked in politics. For those of us who don't believe in a god, or believe in a faith that involves multiple gods and/or goddesses, this "God" talk is automatically exclusive; does, then, the Second Amendment not apply to, say, Hindus?

And since the First Amendment provides freedom of religion (and from religion), it is completely and utterly inane to argue that the Second Amendment is a "God-given" right when the First Amendment says, "Except that God and goverment have nothing to do with each other."

The United States was not created by God. Laws cannot be made to serve any particular god or goddess. No religion can be favored over other religions (or no religion at all).

And yet we're still doing this fucking stupid dance.