Breitbart News Second Amendment expert AWR Hawkins recently appeared at the Western Conservative Summit where he gave a sobering speech about the origin of American rights and how they pertain to self-defense.
Wearing an orange and white Breitbart News hat as well as a Sig Sauer shirt, Hawkins’ speech centered on how rights exist no matter how ideologues may try to take them away.
“Ideologues are immune to proof of failure,” he said. “They don’t believe their system works anyway. It’s all a power grab. They’re not looking at results. They don’t care, and they don’t care if you die.”
Hawkins then cited author Russell Kirk who described ideology as “intellectual servitude,” which can only be rectified by an understanding that rights originate from God, the Creator.
“In other words, it’s a form of slavery,” said Hawkins. “The means of escape entails a return to the objective. A return to the understanding that our rights come from the God of nature, and they come to us, and are evident in the laws of nature.”
Hawkins then cited Thomas Jefferson to illustrate the point that “our natural rights transcends but also supersedes any political apparatus or ideological gibberish.”
“Our paths to the high ground where ideologues hold no sway begins with a return to those simple words Thomas Jefferson wrote centuries ago: ‘We are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights.’ We all know that line,” said Hawkins. “What that one line tells me is that my rights are not mine by the dictate of an ideologue or the majority vote or of a political body. Nor are yours, they are ours because our creator wove them in the very fiber of our being. This is basic stuff. They’re just not teaching it.”
On the issue of the Second Amendment, Hawkins said that people lose a piece of their humanity if they lose their ability to defend their own life.
“These rights which include life and the ability to defend life are essential to our humanity in our freedom. Honestly, you’re not truly human if you don’t have the ability to defend your life, you’re really not. You are losing some of your humanity,” he said, prompting some applause from the audience.
Hawkins concluded his speech by reminding people that rights like the 2nd Amendment existed before the Constitution and will exist far after it.
Paul Roland Bois joined Breitbart News in 2021. He also directed the award-winning feature film, EXEMPLUM, which can be viewed on Tubi, Google Play, YouTube Movies, or Vimeo on Demand. Follow him on Twitter @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.