Second Amendment - Time to Talk

2nd Amendment Summary and Suggestions

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.

Having posted a number of topics on this subject which attempted to highlight some of the controversies, realities, and beliefs, I now face the challenge that any President or well meaning citizen faces in trying to suggest changes.  Many gun loving citizens will react negatively to ANY change. That is a given. However with any journey to make progress you have to take the first step.

I began by acknowledging that the second amendment (above) is deliberately vague. That is a major understatement. Let's move the same challenges into a non-gun world for a moment. Here is a very similarly worded statement. I will try to work with THIS as an impartial beginning. This one is a problem in all modern countries:

"Mechanized transportation, being necessary to the maximization of a productive economy, the right of the people to operate motorized vehicles shall not be infringed".

Starting to get it yet? Here are some of the obvious problems with the above but this issue affects a much higher percentage of the population. I don't know many people who do NOT want to drive some vehicle eventually. On the other hand, with guns, I think it is safe to say that a higher percentage of people do not want guns than those who don't want to own and drive a car. In Canada and I assume the USA, motor vehicles, speed limits, and most highways are under provincial (state in America) control, not federal.

1. Implementing national laws like speed limits, minimum age and learning periods is more difficult

2. Controlling insurance nationally is also more difficult

3. What motorized vehicles are included - tanks; bulldozers; skate boards; boats; convoy tractor trailers with 5-6 trailers?

4. What about vehicles for sheer pleasure that are not moving goods or taking people to work? Are these enhancing the economy (other than providing some employment to manufacture them)?

5. Who regulates the sale and manufacture of the vehicles to assure their safety or effect on the environment?

6. How can we make better use  of a lot of statistics on traffic injuries, damage, and death?

7. With ever growing traffic and parking problems, how many vehicles should a citizen be allowed to license to drive?

8. Can people with mental disabilities drive? What about a history of driving drunk or recklessly?

I think you can readily see the parallels to gun control. Some of these points (as they relate to normal driving of passenger vehicles) seem obvious. Some of the restrictions and laws that DO exist also are not considered to be an infringement to most reasonable people.

That does not juxtapose well to American gun owners. There really is no "logic" or reasoning with the most fervent gun owners. I know that neither I nor any other person who does not share their passion for guns and the belief that they are the "solution" to increasing mass shooting, has to address the rest of society. The audience must be those who know these problems either never existed in countries without a gun culture or in those who dramatically reduced it by controlling or eliminating the public's right to carry.

You have probably noticed that I have been delaying the toughest part - what to do about it. That's because I still have no real answers. I hope the next post will be the final one and that I can make a few suggestions, some of which will not be my own. The source does not matter - only the result does.

#thebrewsterblock 

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

Second Amendment - Topic 5

 

2nd Amendment, not Applicable in Special locations? - Topic 5

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.

This one should be easy but as stated before, nothing about the second amendment is easy.

What I have read with only minimal research (Google research so it must be true!) is that state and federal legislation on this is all over the map - literally. That goes for almost everything about the 2nd Amendment.

So here are some places where I would suggest guns should be prohibited. When reading them ask yourselves "Would the authors of the Second have any reason to disagree with these?" Federal laws are consistent with many of them. In many locations State laws are not:

• government buildings. (Some states restrict carrying in some state buildings but not others)
• courthouses
• schools
• hospitals
• airports and planes (other than security forces)
• bars or any other places where people and their emotions are liable to be under the influence of a substance like alcohol or drugs including sporting events
• any private business or property where the owner decides to disallow guns. This latitude is constantly under attack
• banks
• police stations
• churches
• parks
• public transit
• nudist colonies (just kidding to see if you got this far)

Even where these apply there are differences regarding concealed or open carry restrictions. What difference does this make? Is the thinking that if you can carry an open weapon the other guy/girl has a better chance of reaching theirs if they see you reaching for yours? Sound like Dodge City? 

My take on this is something that applies to all of these locations. Turn it around and ask why does anyone require a gun in any of these locations? The answer for the gun owners/lovers will always be for protection - against some other person.

If fear of the other person is the big issue, then I have two suggestions, expensive as they might be.1) Such locations all have securely locked entrances. 2) An armed guard searches/scans for weapons outside that entrance with mandatory temporary surrender of weapons until the owners leave. The weapons would be locked up and only the guard could unlock them.

One more idea would be to work towards standardizing all of these locations and restrictions across federal and state jurisdictions. Then at least everyone would have to abide by one set of rules.

This leaves one more topic - 6 - before summarizing the entire subject and possibly making suggestions.

#thebrewsterblock