“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.” Thus says the Second Amendment. What it does not say is that the right to
keep and bear arms cannot be regulated.
Arch-conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has even
indicated there is the possibility of gun control legislation that could pass
the litmus test before the Supreme Court.
Whether it will or not remains to be seen.
The NRA and its minions are adamantly opposed to any gun
control legislation. However, they have
no problem with various regulations that have been enacted for the safety of
all persons. Take, for instance, the right
to operate a car. Government requires
that there be a minimum age for anyone who wishes to have a driver’s
license. If one does not have a license,
it is illegal for that person to drive and there are consequences for that person. The government can revoke a person’s right to
drive a car if that person abuses their driving privileges. Further, government can prescribe where one
can drive—on the right side of the road; not against one-way traffic; and
certainly not on a sidewalk. It can also
prescribe what to do upon encountering a stop sign or red light and how fast
one can drive in any given area.
Governmental regulations also control, to the best it can,
air safety. It issues airworthiness
certificates for any aircraft manufactured and flown within the United States; sets
qualifications for pilots, including minimum and maximum ages (for commercial
pilots); and institutes regulations and controls over whomever purchases an
airline ticket, starting with the first hijackings and on down through the 9/11
attacks. Everyone who wishes to fly on a
scheduled commercial flight must deal with the TSA and be aware of what can and
cannot be carried aboard the airplane.
The government also regulates the safety of our lives by promulgating
regulations for the licensing of doctors and hospitals; issuing approval for
new prescription medications; and food safety, among other things.
Governmental regulation, be it local, state, or national is
a part of our everyday lives. One cannot
speed down Main St. in a NASCAR racecar.
One cannot break the sound barrier while flying down the length of Main
St. One cannot hang a shingle out on Main
St and legitimately sell snake oil or practice quackery. So, I ask, what’s the NRA afraid of? It has grown beyond the scope of promoting
gun and hunter safety, into a megalithic organization that sees absolutely no
reason to agree with any reasonable regulation of guns, their equipment, their
ammunition, or their owners, regardless of the consequences, be it in a crowded
movie theater, a crowded bus, or an elementary school. This I submit is wrong and until we can have
some reasonable firearms regulation, starting with background checks on all gun purchasers and limiting the
number and types of guns one can purchase, including their ammunition clips,
the problem will not go away. I do not
want to take away their guns. I only want
society to be safe for everyone, not
just the gun owners.
