“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.”
And so it reads in our Constitution. The second amendment written in 1791. And so it was designed by wise men who wrote a document to try to define America and the rights afforded her citizens. The amendment was “Requested by several states during the Constitutional ratification debates, the widespread desire for such an amendment reflected the lingering resentment over the widespread efforts of the British to confiscate the colonists' firearms at the outbreak of the Revolutionary War.” It was also stated that “the government may regulate or place some limits on the manufacture, ownership and sale of firearms or similar devices.”
Of course our forefathers were dealing with a very different reality. Threats did come from “outside” - America was still trying to establish independence and become a strong nation. Citizens lived in rural settings, often miles from neighbors, and had to be able to defend their property from both animal or human threat. Homeowners and settlers needed a rifle to be able to band together with others in their community in case of a common threat - invasion by Indians perhaps, or the British, or whatever.
Never could Ben Franklin, George Washington and the boys have imagined the kinds of weapons that Americans now feel they have the right to “bear”. Never did they ever think that bearing arms would no longer be linked to a “well regulated militia” but would be used to mow down children in a classroom, or patrons at a theater or shoppers at a mall.
This is political. This should be political. Our political leaders should feel the pressure to stand and do something about this. There is no reason any citizen should be allowed to own an automatic weapon that can fire hundreds of bullets before being re-loaded. There is no reason any citizen should be allowed to carry a gun into a public place.
If you are a gun owner, or a gun user.....use them as intended. Go to a shooting range. Go hunting to put food on the table.
Go hunting students? No. Take your guns to a theater? No. Take them to a mall? No.
No....no....no.
I am not a constitutional scholar, obviously. But I am a mother, a grandmother, a wife. I vote. I want to stand up and say that this last episode in Oregon needs to be just that - the last. This morning a representative of the NRA stated that their policy is “to gather the facts before commenting”. I don’t have all the facts but here is one fact - this is the 10th fatal school shooting THIS YEAR.
Stop saying this has anything to do with the right of American’s to bear arms. This has to do with our politicians being strong enough to stand up and change the Constitution, change our communities, change our sense of safety. One small step at a time - start now with changing gun laws. Requiring new/more difficult regulations before people can purchase guns. No one needs an assault rifle to hunt a deer.
Don’t give me that tired argument that if everyone carried guns we’d all be safer. Arm our teachers. Arm all of our movie-ticket-takers, arm everyone who bags your groceries at the store, arm every mailman, arm every barrista at the coffee shops, every bank teller, have every grandmother pack a gun in her purse. Have every student go through a metal detector before entering their classroom.
No.....no....no.
