“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”.
So say the words of the 2nd Amendment to our United States Constitution.
Those brilliant words from James Madison in 1787, part of
our Bill of Rights, have been the subject of ongoing philosophical, political,
and legal battles for much of our country’s history.
Until a few years ago many questioned if Madison meant that one had to be a member of a militia to be able to keep arms. They said that a society with uncontrolled ownership of guns was neither a civil nor safe society. While others strongly believed that Madison wanted citizens to be able to protect and defend their other freedoms established by the Constitution.
Thankfully in 2008, the Supreme Court ruled in its District of Columbia versus Heller decision that one did not have to be a member of a militia to keep and bear arms for their self-defense in their homes. As such, neither the government of the District of Columbia nor other federal, state, or local governments could attempt to ban private ownership of guns within their borders.
But that Supreme Court ruling did not explicitly address what type of arms could be kept, whether the Constitution specifically protected storage and use of arms outside of the home, and did not overrule existing laws banning felons and mentally ill individuals from keeping arms. The Supreme Court also let stand existing laws prohibiting the carriage of arms in sensitive places such as schools, hospitals, and government buildings.
Flash forward to the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech, of former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, of Trayvon Martin, and the recent Batman massacre in Colorado. The liberal media pundits and leading progressives are again on the warpath to legislate those grey areas on which the Supreme Court did not rule such as type of allowed guns to be kept, where they can be carried, the levels of eligibility to own guns, and even the types of munitions allowed for those arms.
Sadly the liberal media tried to score political points after each tragedy by attempting to pin those shootings on right wing Tea Party types which, of course, turned out not to be the truth. But when there was a massacre caused by a Muslim extremist at Fort Hood or an attempted masacre by a Chick Fil-A hating gay activist at the conservative Family Research Center, the media focuses their attention elsewhere.
I am not an expert on guns law nor am I a recreational user or collector of guns, so I cannot comment with authority or confidence on current or planned regulations on guns. But that does not mean that I do not have strong opinions on our 2nd Amendment rights and how guns are being used in our country today.
When I ran for the Florida Senate years ago, I remember being questioned – actually lectured – by the Florida chapter of the National Rifle Association for my view that gun shows needed to be more tightly regulated and that purchasers needed to be thoroughly vetted before being able to buy a gun at a show. I believe the laws have changed since then and background checks by phone are now required at such shows except for individuals with current gun permits. You can view the law yourself at www.flsenate.gov, click on Search Statutes, and enter Title XLVI Section 790.
I also believe that assault and semi-automatic weapons should be illegal for non-military and non-police personnel to own except for non-working collector versions. It is crazy to think that you need a machine gun or AK-47 for hunting or other recreational uses. Lastly, I believe that so-called armor piercing bullets should not be available for sale to non-military or non-police personnel.
Of course, I also 100% agree with those who say guns do not kill people – people kill people. And that criminals will always have illegal access to any banned guns or ammunition including sometimes getting them from Uncle Sam itself as happened with the Obama “Fast and Furious” gun running scandal that resulted in the death of a U.S. Border agent.
But as James Madison wrote in 1787, we must NEVER let our governments take away our rights to bear arms for our protection and to protect all of the freedoms given to us by the greatest government Constitution the world has even known.
