My reply:
1. The argument that the 2nd Amendment gives citizens the right to bear arms has been twisted from its original intent which was to protect the right of citizens to defend themselves against aggressors through an armed, citizen militia. There are ample written proofs of this in the letters and discussions of the forefathers concerning the issue. Today's interpretation is taken totally out of context.
However, being a gun owner myself, I have no argument with today's interpretation except that, it goes way too far in the wrong direction.
2. We the citizens have every right to limit the possession of firearms for our own protection from other citizens. Assault weapons, armor piercing ammunition, machine guns of any sort, and explosives should be outlawed with stiff penalties and jail time for violators including so-called sham gun collectors. The slaughter of our school children, co-workers, innocent people in a theater and road rage has reached the point of absurdity and you can bet the founding fathers had no idea there could be such savagery against each other or the 2nd Amendment would have been worded quite differently.
Therefore, I will not sign such a petition and pretty much oppose radical organizations such as the NRA and nearly every issue they support.
However, being a gun owner myself, I have no argument with today's interpretation except that, it goes way too far in the wrong direction.
ReplyDeleteYeah I own a Colt .45 and a seriously cool rifle based on an AR-7 based on an old Air Force pilot survival weapon. Both are locked away unloaded with the ammo in a different secure location. But given that I have many years of military training instilling a respect and fear of weapons in the wrong hands. The Second Amendment has been extremely bastardized by the wackos in the NRA and others who base their manhood on the number of handguns and rifles they own.
ditto
DeleteI agree completely. I am not a gun owner though I have shot rifles and my dad would take us to the beach to shoot skeet. There is no reason whatsoever for most of those weapons to be in the hands of civilians.
ReplyDeleteSeems like common sense to me
DeleteIf I'm not mistaken, our own military has put many of those firearms in the marketplace.
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely correct ReBelle. We as a nation are the largest arms dealer on earth, re: the military industrial complex.
DeleteI'm pretty much neutral on the whole gun issue. I don't own a gun (my wife does), but I think guns are more a symptom than the underlying cause of all our mayhem. Canada has roughly the same rate of gun ownership as the U.S. -- that's my understanding from Bowling For Columbine -- and they have a tiny fraction of our murder rate.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, the wording of the 2nd Amendment is pretty clear that the right to bear arms means joining or forming a militia.
In the U.S. an average of one person every 45 minutes is shot to death.
ReplyDeletecan you give a link to where you got those stats
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ReplyDeleteI believe you're right Tom, the real issues are much deeper but can sure make it as tough as possible for Columbine to never happen again.
DeleteWell, gee, Mr. C, you just shot yourself in the foot, if you'll excuse the expression... THAT friend won't be sending you any cool presents for Christmas now. Just kidding. Actually, I agree with you. Some of the laws the NRA has been pushing throughout the country in the name of the second amendment are ludicrous and beyond the scope of common sense. A good idea to allow guns in BARS? In CHURCHES? In SCHOOLS? Oy.
ReplyDeleteOyveh!
DeleteBTW, he emailed me back agreeing with me. Most "conservatives" do when you get right down to it.
DeleteWow, amazing! You must know a much more reasonable breed of conservative than I do.
Deletebang bang....i agree...and may have to borrow some of your words on this as it is simple and straightforward...ugh...being as i had two students plotting to shoot up my classroom earlier this year as well....well that screams way too much access to me...i think we have gone well beyond in many cases...
ReplyDeleteCreepers Brian. You guys definitely don't get paid enough.
DeleteI completely agree - there is no legitimate reason to own an assault weapon.
ReplyDeleteUnless, of course, you are a secret agent woman.
DeleteYep.
ReplyDeleteWhat I like, a man of few words. Isn't that the zen of poetry?
Deleteno one needs armor piercing bullets or automatic guns..bastids.
ReplyDeleteAMEN!
ReplyDeleteif you ban the "assault rifle , machine guns , and any other weapon that the military possess, your just asking for all your freedoms to be taken away....and militias were the community citizens that mustered together to protect their community..... not the federal army.....the second amendment was for that reason....so they could protect themselves from any enemies ..foreign or domestic....thats why the right shall not be infringed.
ReplyDeleteIt does not specify what kind of arms or weapons, but firearms were most likely. to be the choice to arm ones self because it had the advantage of long range, nobody wants to be up close fighting if you want to positively win.
so banning any kind of weapons used to arm ones self would be ridiculous...that would give the criminal element the ability to overcome you, this is to include armor piercing rounds.
I dont leave the security of my family in the hands of the police or our military, thats my job.
putting weapons in the hands of faculty at the schools would have stopped a deranged killer before they had the chance to fire one round .
the bigger issue of school shootings is something else entirely that needs to addressed by society as a whole...why is this happening today....what is different than 50-70 years ago