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.”
When it came to the Second Amendment, those who wrote the Constitution had this in mind:
Given their concerns at the time, it’s easy to see their reasons for including the Second Amendment in the Constitution. They were not sufficiently prescient to envision the AR-15. It’s cousin, the M-16, was the weapon U.S. soldiers carried in Vietnam. The M-16 is fully automatic (pull the trigger, and it fires several rounds), whereas the AR-15 is semi-automatic, firing once each time the trigger is pulled. It is basically a weapon of war, slightly civilized to meet a federal requirement.
The part of the Second Amendment that’s usually overlooked is the part about “a well-regulated militia.” How much would change if the “wannabes” had to join a militia and train with sufficient regularity to be considered “well-regulated”? Currently most places in the states allow any adult who wants an automatic weapon buy one. Those who do buy them often have absolutely ridiculous reasons for “needing” them. One individual I encountered on Facebook said that he needed an AR-15 so that if he is surrounded by a pack of coyotes while out hunting he will be able to defend himself from the coyotes.
My experience with coyotes in the wild (including the “wild” of the Hollywood Hills) is that, given an option, they will avoid humans. In general, wild animals aren’t stupid and do their best to avoid humans. Many of the stories humans have told about wolves, for example, simply aren’t true. The reason they have been slaughtered isn’t that they are out to get humans, but is that they are competitors for game. Wolves, coyotes, and big cats all hunt the same game humans hunt. And, yes, foxes will get into hen houses. The other predators have learned to avoid humans when possible. Humans are the big killers on the planet. Wolves, coyotes, foxes and the big cats will hunt and kill to eat. When well fed, however, they don’t kill for pleasure. They kill to eat, and they collect no trophies.
The United States is the only country in the civilized world with gun mania. It’s true that countries with lax law enforcement and an extensive criminal population also have problems with gun violence associated with lawlessness, but the U.S. is the only so-called civilized country with a gun problem. Australia had much the same early history with guns as the U.S., but elected to regulate weapons following a couple of incidents of inappropriate use. A major factor in the current situation in the States is that the NRA has become one of the most powerful lobbies in US politics (the others being Agri-Business and the pharmaceutical industry). A long time ago, Lord Acton warned, “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” and in politics, money is power.
The NRA spends a lot of money influencing politicians and politics. It used to be that the NRA sponsored gun safety training. When I was young, several friends and I took an NRA sponsored shooting class. We learned gun safety and spent time working on our shooting skills at a specially designed range. Very few people object to target shooting or to hunting during appropriate seasons. The objections are to killing for pleasure. In terms of morality, there’s little difference between killing a deer (in hunting season), having the meant processed for consumption, and buying hamburger at your local grocery store. Those of us who are not strictly vegetarian (or fruitarian), kill to eat. In some ways, hunting is kinder for the animal than feed lots and the slaughter house.
The objections to the current gun laws in the States are based on arming people for war when they aren’t actually going to go to war. People who own toys naturally want to “play” with them. Guns don’t make good toys. People who are going to own guns need to be trained in how to use them. People working in law enforcement have more training than most, and still they often shoot the wrong person or fire numerous rounds and can’t hit the person they are shooting at. The stories often make the news, but nothing changes. Why are the police so afraid that they fear for their lives and “shoot first and ask questions later”? My guess is that they know that any nut case out there might be carrying, locked, and loaded….
The recent shooting in Parkland, Florida is just one example of recent mass shootings. Las Vegas is another. And, of course, those aren’t the only two. The real question, however, is how many of these “incidents” have happened in the past, but how many will happen in the future. My guess is that they aren’t going to happen in Canada, England, or France. What makes the U.S. different? We all need to think about that for awhile. But not for too long, as the time between mass shootings has been growing shorter. Who knows when and where the next one will occur….
If you’re not happy about the current situation, let your congressman and senator know.
