THE TRUTH ABOUT THE SECOND AMENDMENT

Those who oppose gun control have totally misinterpreted the 2nd Amendment.  It has absolutely nothing to do with the right of an individual to own a gun.

Conservative Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger correctly explained (highlights are mine) –

“The Gun Lobby’s interpretation of the Second Amendment is one of the greatest pieces of fraud, I repeat the word fraud, on the American People by special interest groups that I have ever seen in my lifetime. The real purpose of the Second Amendment was to ensure that state armies – the militia – would be maintained for the defense of the state. The very language of the Second Amendment refutes any argument that it was intended to guarantee every citizen an unfettered right to any kind of weapon he or she desires.”

The 2nd Amendment is the only right in the Bill of Rights with a specific qualification.   This amendment does not say “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."  It says "A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."  The important wording is “A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state”.

The Founding Fathers preferred state militias to a national army.  They were afraid of standing army and wanted to maintain the authority of the individual state militias that had made up Washington’s Revolutionary Army.  The members of Congress during that first gun debate believed that “standing armies in a time of peace are dangerous to liberty”. Those were the exact words used in the State of New York’s amendment to the gun debate.

Regardless of your interpretation, right or wrong, of the 2^nd Amendment, there is absolutely no legitimate reason an individual, regardless of their mental state, should be allowed to own an assault weapon, or an attachment or tool to turn a traditional rifle into an assault weapon.  You don’t need an assault weapon to bag a deer.  You don’t need an assault weapon for target shooting.  You don’t need an assault weapon to protect yourself, your family or your home from attack.  The one and only purpose of an assault weapon is in its title – to assault.

And there is absolutely no reason we cannot ban the ownership of assault weapons.  We did it before.  There was a federal assault weapon ban in effect in the United States from September 1994 to September 2004.  President Bush and the Republican Congress let this ban expire.  However, a new assault weapon ban must be stricter and more forceful, with absolutely no “loopholes”.  

We must totally ban all assault weapons.  It should be illegal for an individual to purchase and own an AK-47, an assault rifle, or any such weapon, or anything that converts a traditional rifle into an assault weapon.  Upon passage of the ban legislation the government should begin a program to buy back all currently held assault weapons.   

And we must go further.  In addition to banning all assault weapons and passing a “red flag” law, ownership of a gun must be treated in the same manner we treat automobiles and driving.

* All gun owners must have a valid license, which must be renewed every year. The initial issuance of a license must be based on a thorough and comprehensive background check.

* To get a license a person must pass a written test and a “practical” test. Gun licensees must demonstrate they know how to properly operate and maintain a gun.

* Underage individuals must not be allowed to own guns.  The minimum age for a driving license is usually 17, but the minimum age for owning a traditional gun should be 18.

* Gun owners must have insurance similar to auto insurance.

* We must title and tag each gun at point of purchase, so each gun is registered in a local data base and law enforcement can know if a person is stockpiling an excessive number of guns.

Guns must be inspected at least every other year.

Enough is enough!  America needs strict national gun control legislation now.  We have had too many mass shooting tragedies not to act.  

American lives are more important than political contributions.  Fuck the hypocritical Republican Party!  And fuck the NRA!