Let's Enforce the Second Amendment to Ban Guns
There have been too many killings with guns in the United States recently, especially with what are basically military-issue assault rifles. How do we deal with this? Many Americans, including the President, want to enact strict limitations on who can own firearms—any firearms. Many others, including the National Rifle Association, insist that there is an absolute Constitutional right to bear arms and that the real focus should be in identifying mentally ill people, and restricting their access to guns.
The Second Amendment is viewed either as absolute or anachronistic. It is neither. But it was carefully drafted—if one credits the Founders with any intelligence whatsoever—and this care seems to have been ignored by everyone, especially, in my view, the NRA.
The Second Amendment is the only one of the ten clauses of the Bill of Rights t be qualified an introductory clause: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, . . . .” “Well regulated.” The Founders were not throwing rights out for free. They were saying that rights have responsibilities. The Second Amendment is not exempt. The Founders knew that defense needed to be regulated, and firearms as a part of that, needed to be regulated, too.
The NRA has a lot of support among average Americans who have no problem with gun ownership and who are themselves, conscientious people who know how to deal with guns responsibly. And this is true: the vast majority of gun owners, rhetoric aside, are responsible people. They know how to handle guns safely and are comfortable with guns. And let’s not generalize: these people live everywhere. We are not talking about country versus city, North versus South, redneck versus liberal, or rich versus poor. Normal Americans have guns. Deal with it. It’s part of our national character, whether we like it or not.
The NRA, however, has shown no leadership in this matter. Their representatives are reactive, paranoid, and—their worst sin, in my opinion—impractical. And they seem to have no real interest in addressing a real problem: the murders of innocent Americans through the extreme misuse of firearms by other Americans.
The NRA doesn’t want to deal with those two words in the Second Amendment: “well” and “regulated.” But they can’t ignore them, not if they want to retain any integrity at all.
So let me propose a solution. First, we need to license firearms, all of them. We license cars, we license dogs. Hell, we license real estate agents. We also require hunters to have licenses. So, we can license firearms. No honest American will object. Requiring a license is not a restriction on ownership; it is an assessment of ability and maturity. Just like a driver’s license, just like a hunter’s license.
But we have to look at the types of firearms involved. Hunters use long guns: rifle, shotguns. Handguns are different. Assault rifles are different. So those need to be regulated differently.
The NRA should have no problem with mandatory background checks for all firearms. This is the best way, maybe the only way, to screen out the mentally ill, which the NRA itself says should be the focus of the debate.
Hunters get their rifles and shotguns with their license. No problem. Handguns? Require a course in gun safety. Just like a driver’s license. But what about assault weapons? Here the Second Amendment pertains the most, because assault weapons are exclusively military weapons.
The solution is simple: in addition to a regular long gun permit, if you want to own an assault weapon, you have to be a member of a recognized militia organization. Recognized, that is, by the federal government. In short, you have to be a member of the National Guard or something similar. If you have not made a commitment to the U.S. military in this fashion—a commitment to the common defense as stipulated by the Second Amendment—you do not deserve to own a military weapon. Period.
The NRA won’t like this because they don’t care about the Constitution, not really. They care about collecting dues from their members and paying themselves nice salaries. And they care about promoting ignorance and irresponsibility so that they keep collecting those dues.
But honest Americans are responsible and know that ownership of firearms carries with it responsibility. And honest Americans understand that we can be good citizens and own guns. We just have to do it right.
The Second Amendment is viewed either as absolute or anachronistic. It is neither. But it was carefully drafted—if one credits the Founders with any intelligence whatsoever—and this care seems to have been ignored by everyone, especially, in my view, the NRA.
The Second Amendment is the only one of the ten clauses of the Bill of Rights t be qualified an introductory clause: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, . . . .” “Well regulated.” The Founders were not throwing rights out for free. They were saying that rights have responsibilities. The Second Amendment is not exempt. The Founders knew that defense needed to be regulated, and firearms as a part of that, needed to be regulated, too.
The NRA has a lot of support among average Americans who have no problem with gun ownership and who are themselves, conscientious people who know how to deal with guns responsibly. And this is true: the vast majority of gun owners, rhetoric aside, are responsible people. They know how to handle guns safely and are comfortable with guns. And let’s not generalize: these people live everywhere. We are not talking about country versus city, North versus South, redneck versus liberal, or rich versus poor. Normal Americans have guns. Deal with it. It’s part of our national character, whether we like it or not.
The NRA, however, has shown no leadership in this matter. Their representatives are reactive, paranoid, and—their worst sin, in my opinion—impractical. And they seem to have no real interest in addressing a real problem: the murders of innocent Americans through the extreme misuse of firearms by other Americans.
The NRA doesn’t want to deal with those two words in the Second Amendment: “well” and “regulated.” But they can’t ignore them, not if they want to retain any integrity at all.
So let me propose a solution. First, we need to license firearms, all of them. We license cars, we license dogs. Hell, we license real estate agents. We also require hunters to have licenses. So, we can license firearms. No honest American will object. Requiring a license is not a restriction on ownership; it is an assessment of ability and maturity. Just like a driver’s license, just like a hunter’s license.
But we have to look at the types of firearms involved. Hunters use long guns: rifle, shotguns. Handguns are different. Assault rifles are different. So those need to be regulated differently.
The NRA should have no problem with mandatory background checks for all firearms. This is the best way, maybe the only way, to screen out the mentally ill, which the NRA itself says should be the focus of the debate.
Hunters get their rifles and shotguns with their license. No problem. Handguns? Require a course in gun safety. Just like a driver’s license. But what about assault weapons? Here the Second Amendment pertains the most, because assault weapons are exclusively military weapons.
The solution is simple: in addition to a regular long gun permit, if you want to own an assault weapon, you have to be a member of a recognized militia organization. Recognized, that is, by the federal government. In short, you have to be a member of the National Guard or something similar. If you have not made a commitment to the U.S. military in this fashion—a commitment to the common defense as stipulated by the Second Amendment—you do not deserve to own a military weapon. Period.
The NRA won’t like this because they don’t care about the Constitution, not really. They care about collecting dues from their members and paying themselves nice salaries. And they care about promoting ignorance and irresponsibility so that they keep collecting those dues.
But honest Americans are responsible and know that ownership of firearms carries with it responsibility. And honest Americans understand that we can be good citizens and own guns. We just have to do it right.
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