Showing posts with label 2nd Amendment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2nd Amendment. Show all posts

Monday, August 5, 2019

Why the 2nd Amendment ALLOWS GUN CONTROL

Preface
I'm not a Republican or a Democrat, but am a long-time gun owner.  I'm not an attorney, but have studied the Constitution since 1956...mostly informally.  "Studied" doesn't only mean I've read it over and over.  I've researched many constitutional court cases, read dozens and dozens of Supreme Court opinions, and those of lower courts as well.
...................................................
"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."
2nd Amendment to the Constitution
..............................................
It seems to me that any reading of the above with a view toward common sense leads to the following conclusions.
1.  The 2nd Amendment allows civilians to possess firearms in order to have a "well regulated Militia".  [Our Founders were wary of having a large standing army during peacetime.  They opted for a militia made up of everyday citizens/civilians, non-professional "soldiers".]
2.  Apparently, Americans who oppose gun control have chosen to ignore the phrase, well regulated.  So, too, have some Supreme Court Justices.
3.  Back in the 1700's, "Arms" possessed by militia men for the possible defense & "security of a free State" amounted to pistols and single-shot rifles.  Assault rifles, automatic weapons of any kind, hand-held rocket launchers, etc. did not exist.  It defies common sense that anyone would think any modern day weapons of war should fall under the 2nd Amendment.  Even if they did, those who had them would have to be well regulated to be in compliance with the Constitution.
......................................
Trump is correct when he states that the recent mass murders were undertaken by "mentally ill" people.  Duh.  Too bad he doesn't understand the effect of words such as "invasion", "invaders", etc. on those same people.  Or, maybe he does.  Too bad that Oligarchs like him don't see the connection between horrendous social ills (mass murders, opioid crisis, etc.) and the throwing under the bus of mental health treatment in the USA...which has been going on for decades.  Too bad, indeed.
......................................
Sidebar
Not many, but some gun owners have formed their own "militias".  They seem to believe that they're being patriotic, and are following the Constitution.  Nope.  The phrase well regulated in the 2nd Amendment does NOT mean self regulated.  It means regulated by the Government.  Hello.
..............................................
Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Saturday, October 7, 2017

Rifle Bump Stocks - A No-Brainer, Gun Rights, ISIS, & More


Any hesitation about ​banning ​"bump stocks" for rifles is ridiculous...they never should have been allowed in the 1st place.  Why not allow grenade launchers?  They are "firearms", after all.  [The Constitution says "Arms".]  How about what used to be called bazookas?...another "firearm".  I'm not for banning all firearms, but WEAPONS OF WAR never should be allowed in the hands of civilians.  That includes automatic weapons, or any device that makes any gun into one.
​[​I don't think even semi-automatic weapons should be allowed.]  I was a hunter back when, and enjoyed it greatly; but to allow civilians ​to have any semblance of an automatic weapon or other weapon of war is nuts.

The 2nd Amendment allows civilians to possess firearms in order to have a "well regulated Militia"...the Founders were averse to having a large standing army.  In fact, when the Treaty ending the Revolutionary War was signed in 1783, shortly thereafter the peacetime Army was reduced to about 700 men (from 17,000).  The Bill of Rights in the Constitution wasn't written until 1789, when it was approved by Congress...but wasn't ratified by all the States until 1791.  Point being:  it was almost 20 years after the 1st Continental Congress was formed in 1774 before the 2nd Amendment came into full force and being, and it's sole purpose was to guarantee a well regulated militia.  Again, "well regulated"...a direct quote.

People who believe civilians (because of the 2nd Amendment) are allowed to have any kind of gun in the world with virtually no regulations should keep the above history in mind.  The 2nd Amendment says no such thing.  It never did.

To those who still believe that "gun rights" protect us from an errant gov't, consider the following.  If some sort of brutal dictatorship were to engineer a coup here, and it had the backing of our Armed Forces, you'd best forget about trying to resist with your collection of firearms in your gun cabinet.  In this day & age---with satellite surveillance, weaponized drones, other advanced weaponry, intelligence capability, psyops, communications monitoring, etc., etc.---any such resistance would be totally squashed...probably in less than a month.  Instead of getting into gun battles with you, the Powers would offer ten million dollars (or whatever) to anyone who would rat out your location, and then bomb you into the next dimension.  The days of Fidel Castro type revolutions or Red Dawn movie scenarios no longer are possible.  Look at the ISIS-types---they've been trying for almost 1400 years to become rulers by force; they've failed***.  Nutjobs always are capable of causing chaos, but they won't ever permanently take over anything by force anymore...especially in this modern era.  The Powers-That-Be won't allow it.

***I don't consider the Ottoman Empire to have been "ISIS-types".  In the areas where they ruled, they were tolerant of other religions.  Eventually, they came to adopt Western world ways.  Islamophobes usually ignore this part of History.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

"Don't Believe Him"

The Nazis in the 1930's and 1940's used exactly the same propaganda tactic as is used by Trump:  repeat a lie over & over, and m...