Indiana Gov. Mike Pence has discovered the secret for a long life.
“I often say, if I only had 12 years left to live, I’d want to live it as a member of Congress—because that was the longest 12 years of my life,” said Pence, a former Republican congressman.
He was addressing the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action Leadership Forum in Indianapolis.
Pence got personal, recalling how when he first met his future wife, “she had a handgun and a motorcycle—it was love at first sight.”
He described his strong support of gun rights.
“You – all of you – are the champions of liberty that our nation so desperately needs,” Pence said. “You and tens of millions like you have defended limited government, personal responsibility, and liberty against the forces of expansive and paternalistic government, and against the efforts of those who want to regulate us into the dull uniformity of progressives’ dreams.
“Nowhere is the ongoing struggle for freedom more visible than when it occurs over the Second Amendment. We all know that firearms in the hands of law-abiding citizens don’t threaten our families. They protect our families. Firearms in the hands of law-abiding citizens don’t cause crime—they help in the fight against crime. They have always been an essential component of our most basic liberties.
“Freedom is on the march because freedom-loving Americans like you are rising up, and I commend you for your stand.”