the guns amendment
i’ve been waiting so long to write this post, and now that orlando has happened, i’m not even sure if i do want to write it. but here it goes.
i don’t want to take guns away. hunters? awesome. recreational gun enthusiasts? sure thing. conceal and carry? eh…not my cup of tea, but i guess whatever floats your boat.
but assault rifles? not necessary to shoot down that deer. background checks? ABSOLUTELY. if i can’t rent an apartment without one, why shouldn’t a gun owner have to go through one? why has this not been in place since databases were starting to be kept on criminals. but, i can see where that poses the problem: what if joe schmo down the street wants to buy a gun from his neighbor? sticky situations. and now, with the best 3D printers under 500 you can basically 3D print a gun.
but here’s the 2nd amendment:
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.
i think a lot of people kind of ignore that first part, “a well regulated militia.”
i was talking to my dad about this, and he was actually going to write his congressperson about this. my dad is a conservative republican gun-owning constitutionalist. he votes for presidents based on who they might pick for the supreme court, who in turn decided constitutionality of cases.
his solution: why not take that first part of the amendment and make it literal? make community militias mandatory. you want a gun? put it in your local militia. you want to use it? go pick it up, use it, bring it back. you don’t bring it back? giant fine. 3 strikes, you go to jail. do not pass go; no get out of jail free card.
sure, this would take time for it to start to work really well; there are a lot of un-tracked guns out there, and some people really wouldn’t want to take part. but over time, any new gun would become a part of the local militia.
i like it. it makes sense. it would keep track of guns. it would hold owners responsible. and the best part? it would really hold fast and true to the second amendment. i think our founding fathers would approve.