Although I didn't realize it at the time, I became interested in The Second Amendment as a child. No, not through reading schoolbooks. I learned about it the hard way. I grew up during the Vietnam War.

In the summer of 1965, a very close friend of mine left for Vietnam. It was the last time I ever saw him. It was his loss that, years later, would help me to understand the definition of freedom and that freedom, indeed, is not free. It was from him that I learned that the Second Amendment is not just about guns. From that day forward, the inanimate objects-- Guns-- have represented the very real ideal-- FREEDOM.

In 1977, I was blessed with a husband who liked firearms. He taught me how to shoot and took me hunting. He was a member of NRA and convinced me to join.

In 1989, we found out about Gun Owners of America and the no compromise approach to preserving the Second Amendment. We joined GOA and a state no-compromise group because we wanted to become more active in restoring/preserving that which my friend, and millions of other Americans fought and died for.

It is hard for me to understand why some people feel that compromise is acceptable when fighting for our Constitutional rights. There should be no compromising on that which so many American men and women fought and died. Every compromise is a step closer to desecrating what these Americans fought for. The anti gunners have referred to us as extremist because we choose to exercise and defend a constitutional right. There are those who have even referred to us as a "fringe element" because we choose the no-compromise path. I imagine there were those in the colonial times who regarded our founding fathers as extreme and even those who regarded them as the fringe element. Aren't you glad they didn't compromise? I am.

This document was donated to our archives by Gun Owners of America -- the NO COMPROMISE defenders of liberty on Capitol Hill.