Amendment II, United States Constitution
"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."
If you think that this reads like a blanket license to own as many handguns as a third world country, then you have less brains than a head of lettuce or George W. Bush.
I don't claim to know what was in the minds of the founding fathers when the Second Amendment was passed in 1791 but I know this; when the authors of our Constitution wanted to affirm a right or deny an action, they did it.
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion...".
"No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner...".
These amendments seem clear, don't they? No extra words. No intentionally ambiguous language. Why then, if the framers wanted Americans to have an unrestricted license to own firearms, did they insert the phrase, "A well regulated militia, being necessary.." into the second amendment?
The only logical conclusion is that the leaders of this new country wished to make a distinction between arming the populace for the common defense and the arbitrary and unfettered ownership of ordnance. Why is that so difficult to grasp?
No one is suggesting that the tragedy at Virginia Tech would have been averted if the gun laws in Virginia were more stringent. However, the ease with which Seung-Hui Cho was able to purchase two handguns and over 200 rounds of ammunition make the State a facilitator in the crime. The requirements for gun ownership in this country are so lax and porous as to be useless. America is not serious about restricting the purchase of handguns. Period.
Don't look to the White House for leadership or guidance on this issue. Clueless George is too busy trying to repeal the ban on assault weapons in the District of Columbia. That sounds like the single stupidest idea since ...say the invasion of Iraq. Why is there absolutely no political fallout from the attempt to arm Washington's gangs with machine guns? Because, say it with me, America is not serious about restricting the purchase of guns...any guns.
No one has asked for my opinion about gun ownership but as long as you're here, you might as well hear it.
1) Hunters can keep their rifles and shotguns. (I know that's big of me) I'm not a hunter but I get it. Most hunters are obsessively careful about the storage of their weapons anyway.
2) No one gets to carry a handgun or keep one in their home. If you like to shoot targets leave the gun at the range. If you get caught with a gun in your home you do three months in a county jail. People who think they need guns for protection, be my guest, but if you get caught you're going inside.
This includes the police department. Whoever dreamed up the idea of cops being on duty 24 hours a day never spent any time in a cop bar. Knowing that most of these inebriates are armed to the teeth is a sobering thought. Why should a police officer carry a concealed weapon at all times? Are sanitation workers required to pick up trash wherever and whenever they see it? Are teachers compelled to point out the historical inaccuracies of a movie while at a matinee? The police should be allowed to be as stupid and unruly as the rest of us without the fear of a .38 caliber exclamation point to an argument. Leave the gun at work.
3) Stop imports. We have plenty of companies dealing death in the US without help from Glock and Beretta.
4) We should begin to help Smith and Wesson and Remington get into a new line of manufacture. They can make rifles and shotguns as well as handguns for law enforcement and the military but only under contract and in limited supply.
5) Every advance in technology so far thwarted by the NRA should be adopted and implemented including gun registration, tagging the chemical composition of gun powder and, adopting fingerprint-recognition for gun triggers. Every gun gets registered. Every bullet for every weapon gets registered.
Wake up America. Guns kill people and the ease of purchase in this country makes the carnage at Columbine and Virginia Tech too easy and too frequent. We put millions of guns in the hands of our citizens and then affect shock when someone points one at another human being. At the risk of appearing insensitive, I suggest that the mourners currently decorating the Blacksburg campus with flowers begin to demonstrate at the Fairfax, VA home of the NRA. Get angry, people or get ready for the next tragedy.
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