Dan Cox, Republican Nominee for Congress, Md-Dist. 8

(7/2016) ISIS. So-called "soldiers of the caliphate." Soft-targets and civilian casualties in places like Orlando, San Bernadino, Garland and Ft. Hood Texas, the military recruitment centers in Chattanooga, Tennessee and Little Rock, Arkansas, the list goes on regarding the terror attacks on U.S. soil in the last seven years. Add to that the mass shootings and home invasions by heroin and drug involved criminals and we see a need to be ever vigilant.

But let's pause a minute and remember the heroism of Americans. They would want us to smile in confidence of the great country we have in America, and of the freedoms we can defend. Their sacrificial service reminds us of the good will and love of our fellow countrymen. Sacrifice and honor at the World Trade Center Towers that fateful day on 9/11. Valor and duty won against the enemy by so many men and women of our Armed Forces. Men like Navy SEAL Michael Monsoor, whose story is depicted in the movie Act of Valor, who threw his body on a grenade to save his friends, representing the greatness and strength of character that is America, and who was awarded posthumously the Medal of Honor. Brave women like our own Marylander Emily Perez, the first female West Point graduate to die in combat for America and to live forever in hearts as a beacon of freedom's light.

The brave service and sacrifice of these men and women should inspire us to do the same here at home.

Rather than cave in to fear and the oppression of a scheme to remove freedom by some of our less-valiant leaders, let us join together in courage to do what is right as we see the right.

We are a country of faith and freedom, of the belief that God is love and rules in the affairs of mankind. Without His intervention and help, evil and superstition, violence and tyranny would oppress us and our Republic of the people, by the people, for the people would have perished from the earth long ago.

So hold fast, keep the faith. In God we still trust. And let's get to work.

If elected to Congress, I plan to draft and seek to pass a National Home & Community Defense Act to do several things that we as Americans have done before in support of our liberty.

First, the Act will provide basic training for home and community defense against the threats of terrorism and home invasion. We all need to be prepared to serve our families and communities should duty call. This will take work, but we've done it before. During WWII the US Air Force Auxiliary, Civil Air Patrol provided a means for citizens to help defend our communities and it still has a proud tradition of doing so including flights, coastal watch and drug interdiction, primarily focusing on training youth. But anti-terrorism and home and community defense training can be a new way of training and service, and can be coordinated by local fire and police departments, keeping the control right here in our communities.

Second, the Act will include the opportunity for all able-bodied men and women to be armed and trained in defense of home and community, with possible tax credits as incentives to do so. The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution exists for one reason only: the defense of person and people, for this is the essence of a free state. In Switzerland, every home is required to possess a gun in its national defense plan and they provide annual training. We can voluntarily encourage this here in America and be prepared to defend the People. Stadiums already have armed security; we must ensure all soft-targets of terrorism are likewise ready to protect our children and people, including schools, malls, theaters, restaurants and concerts.

Third, the Act will include interstate reciprocity so that states like our own can provide and protect concealed carry holders across state lines. Time and again well-trained and quick-thinking armed citizens stop mass shootings, but those go largely unpublished by the mass media. Trained armed citizens can mean the difference between life and death as the average shooting is less than five minutes and the average police response time is between 10 and 15 minutes. Interpol, the international organization of police forces, has published studies indicating that to stop terrorism against soft-targets the people must be armed because that helps the police to reduce violence quickly and saves lives.

Fourth, but not necessarily last, we need a comprehensive approach to stopping the heroin epidemic, now the most common cause of accidental deaths in Maryland and a key cause in the drug trade behind home invasions, burglaries and robberies. This is why I support CARA (Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act) sponsored by Senator Ted Cruz and which passed the U.S. Senate. I will join in co-sponsoring similar measures to make our communities drug-free and safer.

These are common-sense measures in our defense and security. We know that good guys and gals with guns are how bad people with guns are stopped. We the people can join together and ensure our freedom, our homes and our communities are safe from terror, from violence and from hatred founded in tyrannical ideologies such as that declared by the Islamic State (ISIS).

But I can't do this unless we protect the other House – the U.S. House of Representatives. We are in a battle for our basic freedoms of Speech, of Association, Property rights and of bearing Arms. Thankfully the current Congress is standing up to policies of this Administration which redacts Speech to keep America in the dark on terrorism, which attacks our constitutional freedom of worship, of assembly, rights of property, and of the right to keep and bear arms. The House of Representatives does not need any more politicians like my opponent, an open atheist and socialist who authored the gun ban in Maryland. He has a right to his opinions and beliefs, but so do we. We know a better way.

I believe District 8 needs a Congressman who represents the people, who understands the Constitution and that the rights of mankind come from our Creator, and who will fight for our homes, our communities and our country. That is what I intend to do if elected. Please join our campaign and tell everyone you know the importance of this election and of supporting our campaign. Go to www.coxforcongress.org or follow me on Facebook.com/coxforcongress or on Twitter: @dancox4congress and let's stand together for the protections we all know is best for our kids and our communities. Thank you and keep smiling!

Dan Cox is a constitutional attorney in Frederick County, husband and father of eight children, and former Captain in the U.S. Air Force Auxiliary, Civil Air Patrol. He is running for the Eighth Congressional District open seat being vacated by Congressman Van Hollen