I was once lukewarm to the second amendment to the US Constitution feeling the amendment was dated and belonged to an earlier time in US history where to pull together a militia for the defense of the country or the need for firearms for protection and food was necessary.
I still felt that the second amendment had some utility and that side arms and long rifles for personal protection and hunting respectively should still be a right but in general I thought that the right to bear arms nuts out there were going to far in demanding that they have access to all sorts of arms like fully automatic rifles used in war.
The NRA and other kooky groups did put up some foolish arguments with ridiculous sayings like “guns don’t kill people, people do”. Statements like this are misleading.
Of course it is true that people use guns (and other weaponry) to kill other people and guns in most cases don’t go off by themselves or cannot kill without a person acting upon it although I can think of situations where guns without the intervention of people can kill like when a loaded pistol falls off a table and goes off.
However guns and other weapons are made and used by people. A proper look at the situation would take a look at guns and how they interact with society. In this regard the facts are pretty clear.
Availability of guns and density of population usually means more gun violence. Density of population is not the only factor (or necessary condition) that increases gun deaths. Things like poverty and culture also affects gun violence but let there be no doubt that the availability of firearms within a society does increase gun violence.
I am a more enthusiastic supporter of the second amendment of the US Constitution now because of the current world scene and the historical record.
The coming out of Mark Felt and the pondering on this incident in American history made me realize how fragile a democracy can be and although the turning of the US government into a theocracy (at least half of the Republican Party is controlled by the Christian right) or a police state (which is really already here because big brother is watching you with cameras and other types of sensors everywhere) is unthinkable and not thought of as possible today but stranger things have happened.
Some people ballyhoo the idea of an Orwellian country or world as nonsense (despite cameras being all over the place and taping everyone in many of our public spaces) and they make the ridiculous argument that says, “if you are not doing nothing wrong then cameras watching you does not matter”.
With this stupid statement you can justify putting a camera everywhere and taping and watching everything. Why not put a video camera in your house so the state can watch you twenty-four seven because if you are not doing anything wrong it shouldn’t matter (how ridiculous).
I still feel there should be some reasonable controls on allowing one to own firearms and other weaponry. I think all gun owners should have to pass a firearm and/or long rifle safety and use course and be licensed.
I now feel that one if licensed (and every law abiding citizen has the right to bear arms- it is not a privilege like they say driving is) should be allowed to own automatic guns and other high-powered guns. The gun enthusiast should be able to own all types of guns and as many as he wants. This is a change in position for me.
I know this position can bring about problems like heavily armed Jew and Black hating militia groups or militia groups that are under the misimpression that their government is already operating in violation of the Constitution. I know this position could mean more gun violence and crime but I think the right to own weapons more deadly than single shot or semi automatic firearms is important.
I consider it a small insurance policy.Small because it’ll take a lot more than people owning automatic weapons to stop a government that has turned oppressive but it’ll give one a fighting chance to defend his or her liberty if it ever comes down to that.
Do I think it likely that the United States will become a theocracy or oppressive police state? Not really. The trends in US government are more likely the result of present trends in the values of the population. Values change and trends change which in a democracy means government policies change.
I guess if my values begin to diverge too much from those of the overwhelming majority of the people in the US I can always try to immigrate (or just live) to another country.