Recently, I read Pastor Darran J. Whiting’s Jan. 24 guest column, “Enough is enough” on gun control. Whiting implores us to not only know our rights, but to actively defend our rights. Write and call your representatives. Put feet to your convictions.

We live in perilous times. We are at a crossroads in which we can choose to live restricted or free.

I choose to be free and exercise my Second Amendment right to defend myself and my family. I will not helplessly fall prey to a madman in a store as I shop, nor a burglar or a tyrant.

I choose to be free and stand up to defend the unborn, elderly and disabled. Shame on the society that judges an individual’s value based on age, abilities or convenience. Every person has God-given value and purpose.

I choose to be free and stand up for America. My country was paid for with the blood of men and women who understood the intrinsic value of freedom. Men and women who saw it worthy to give up their lives and dreams so I can enjoy freedom.

I choose to be free and stand up as a Christian. God makes no mistakes. He created man, woman and a holy marriage between the two. He is the author of freedom and we have the responsibility to defend the freedom he so freely gives.

Heidi Hepker

Marion