Second Amendment - Topic 6

 

2nd Amendment, Sale and Distribution - Topic 6

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.

Here is the last topic - the sale and distribution of weapons - before looking at the overall gun situation.

The above reproduction of the Second Amendment states nothing about the sale and distribution of the "arms" that one may bear. Thus no suggestions or current practices on sales are in violation of this Amendment. Proposals and regulations have to be considered with original intent in mind. Everything keeps coming back to that - interpretation.

As stated in one of the previous topics, regulations or practices regarding sale and distribution varies by state and by situation. Professional sellers of weapons are certainly regulated federally but not so much by state. If you sell a gun to a friend or at a gun show or garage sale, there is no regulation. Need I go further?

This in effect negates any legitimate regulation. If I want to go on a rampage and do my own mass shooting, I can buy any weapon I want off the street or from a neighbour. There will also be no background check - just slap down my cash and start shooting.

Once again letting reason interfere with passion, here are some suggestions:

1. Any vendor at a gun show must be a registered seller - no private sales. That vendor must conduct and show proof of a valid background check on the purchaser (no minors, no mental disorders, no prior serious weapons offences). This does not prevent illegal yard sales for example but it is one large step for mankind!
2. Such sellers should lose their license to sell if they violate this.
3. A purchaser should also have to register a purchase. This does not violate anything in the 2nd. You need to register a car which is not intended to kill so why not a gun? I know this argument is as old as the controversy but it is still valid.
4. Rapid-fire assault weapons should not be sold to the public - does not violate the 2nd. Yup - heard it all before - they are "arms" so they should be available. Today assault weapons, tomorrow tanks in every driveway.
5. As mentioned before, if you can't regulate the gun sale then regulate the ammunition sale. This will really make gun owners go wild but the 2nd does not preclude this approach. Naturally, the manufacture of your own ammo would have to be part of this.

I could go on but why waste the space? We know what the reaction will be. There is enough here to make a big impact - like the impact of one of those rounds hitting a body.

That is enough food for thought, both of rational thinkers and the not so rational. In subsequent posts I will address the tough part: what to do about all of this, if anything.

Thanks for reading this far.

#thebrewsterblock