Second Amendment
"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."  Very clearly stated, there should be little room for argument here.  In my view:

  • The American people are all members of the militia outlined in the text. Private gun ownership is a fundamental right of every adult citizen.
  • To our detriment, we do tend to ignore the "well regulated" portion of the Amendment.
  • Having said that, the assault weapons ban passed under the Clinton Administration [1] was unnecessarily broad.
  • A ban on assault class semi-automatic weapons proved to be ineffective [2] [3] and should not be reinstated.
  • Restrictions on weapon types or magazine capacities that is not retroactive is pointless.
  • Fully automatic firearms and various weapons of war (explosive ordnance such as grenades and RPGs for example) should be banned.
  • It is not unreasonable to expect and accept limitations on when and where firearms can be carried.
  • ALL firearm purchases should be subject to:
    • A waiting period. 24 hours for long guns, 48 hours for handguns.
    • Full background checks for retail and private sale, including trade shows.
    • Completion of a comprehensive firearm safety course.
  • ALL firearm ownership should be subject to:
    • Biennial recertification in said safety course.
    • Legal ramifications if an unreported stolen weapon is used in the commission of a crime.
    • Concealed or open carry permit dependent on safety course certification.
  • Firearms shall be completely barred at political events and anywhere where alcohol is served.

We must remember that while we always should protect the right to have something,  how we want to practice that right is not always the responsible thing to do.

[1] Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 /LINK/
[2] Expanded Homicide Data Table 8 - Murder Victims by Weapon 2007-2011 /LINK/
[3] Was the last assault weapons ban effective? - MSNBC report on multiple linked studies /LINK/

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