APPLETON, WIS. — Former Georgia Congressman Bob Barr discusses the role of the Second Amendment as a core foundation of the Bill of Rights and the importance of self-reliance in preserving one’s life and property against attack from criminals, foreign powers or even a malevolent government in an address at Lawrence University.
Barr presents “The Second Amendment is About More Than Just Guns” Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. in Science Hall, Room 102. The event is free and open to the public.
The address will examine the current relevance of the right to keep and bear arms as established by the framers of the Constitution and the importance of not turning this responsibility solely over to the government.
A member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 -2003, Barr was dubbed “Mr. Privacy” by New York Times columnist William Safire in recognition of his leadership in privacy matters. While in Congress, Barr served as a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee and as vice-chairman of the Government Reform Committee.
Since leaving Congress, Barr has occupied the 21st Century Liberties Chair for Freedom and Privacy at the Virginia-based American Conservative Union. He is a board member of the National Rifle Association and serves as the chairman of the organization Patriots to Restore Checks and Balances.
He also works with the Leadership Institute in Arlington, Va., and is a member of The Constitution Project’s Initiative on Liberty and Security, based at Georgetown University’s Public Policy Institute. From 2003-05, Barr served as a member of the Long Term Strategy Project for Preserving Security and Democratic Norms in the War on Terrorism at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
A former official with the CIA (1971-78), he was appointed U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia by President Reagan in 1986 and served as president of the Southeastern Legal Foundation from 1990-91.
Barr is a frequent guest on network and cable news programs and writes a column for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He is the author of the 2004 book “The Meaning of Is: The Squandered Impeachment and Wasted Legacy of William Jefferson Clinton,” in which he offers a sharply contrasting perspective on the Clinton administration than the one touted in Clinton’s own memoir.
His appearance is sponsored by the Lawrence University Sportsman’s Club.
