Thoughts on the Second Amendment

I admit right off that I am not much of a gun person. Not that I have anything against them or people who feel very strongly about them but my feeling is this: guns are made to kill or injure creatures; the Zen part of me doesn't want to kill or cause pain to anyone or anything (however, mosquitoes, ticks, black widows, fire ants, and pesky flies are exceptions). I do realize that if someone broke into my house and threatened my family I'd shoot them. I don't think I would try to kill them but the blast from a 12 gauge might stop an intruder and not kill them.

So #2 in the Bill of Rights says that our right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. There are tons of things written about what exactly this means. The Supreme Court has been kept busy across the years interpreting this one. I think James Madison probably didn't seem so vague in his day (in the middle of a revolution and all) but it makes sense that it be written vaguely for the future. I doubt Madison could envision some of the weapons available today. So he left us with a line that we would have to interpret over and over again as the times dictated. I see the Constitution in the same way I see the Holy Bible: No matter how it is interpreted the main points are pretty hard to miss. Madison definitely wanted us to have the right to own guns.

Clearly........you can't stop Americans from owning guns. What about crazy Americans? The first part of right #2 says that a "well regulated militia" is necessary. This is justification for our ability to have guns. The "well regulated" part implies that some limits must be in place. This is why it is certainly not unconstitutional to take guns away from minors, crazy people and people who have demonstrated an inability to regulate themselves (by obeying the law).

If you want to own a shotgun or handgun for your own protection. It is your right. But owning a basement full of AK-47s or parking a tank in your front yard does not make you part of any regulated militia. Why would any law abiding citizen need to have these types of weapons?