theotherjacob wrote...
here's the reason why anyone who says we need guns for protection are kidding themselves by hiding behind the second 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
This is the exact wording of the second amendment. Let me point out the obvious, only fools cherry pick statements. This amendment says specifically that a well regulated militia is necessary for the security of the people, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. The people who wrote this had no intention of people keeping guns and not being a part of this militia.
This was written in a time of possible war. The reason the people had a right to bear arms is so that they could fight. How many people right now that own guns in the united states are active or former members of the military, how many are part of the national guard or volunteer forces. How many go through active military drills to be a well regulated militiaman? How many people that own the billions of guns that the united states owns and produces are in the hands of people who actively train to use them on a daily, weekly, monthly basis?
The real answer is very few actively practice gun safety and the knowledge needed to properly use a firearm. Almost none of these people are actually part of an active regulated militia, like the Michigan militia that gets so much hate. I can guarantee that very few people actually work with their neighbours to form a protection unit that trains together in gun practices and discuss accountability for situations that may occur. There are no weekly neighbourhood chapter meetings to discuss crime in the area or politics or anything. This just doesn't actively happen.
So if you want to hide behind the second amendment but aren't an active militiaman, you are not doing what the constitution says.
That's an interesting interpretation of the U.S. Consitution and specifically the 2nd Amendment, and I know many people share this view with you. I don't agree with it for a few reasons which I hope you'll consider:
I don't think Militia means what you think it means. My understanding of that term (as it was used in other period writings which I've read) does not mean a standing/fixed or even State/Federal Army. It is litterally the local community of "the people" comming together in their own common defense. Guns were unregulated and most households in rural areas had them for both hunting and defense. I am in the U.S. Military, and I do not consider myself in the Militia. The Militia would be my civilian neighbors in a time of crisis. I have voluntarily signed away some of my rights as a citizen by taking the oath to serve and signing my contract of service. I have to follow additional laws and am subject to a more stringent and additional legal system than I was as a civilian. The Army and the Militia when this was written also followed a similar legal separation.
Also, remember, the war you speak of that shaped this document was a war by "the people" against their own government - a government that had lost it's legitimacy with "the people," which is why it's called a Revolution. Americans today think of themselves as Americans in a way that the Colonial Americans in the British Empire did not.
I would also draw your attention to the very term "the people" in the amendment itself (which is why I'm writing it in quotes). It has specific meaning and is used in other amendments and in the Preamble... "We the People..." I think you are overlooking the importance of it's use in the 2nd Ammendment and elsewhere. "The people" are more than just the militia but the militia can not exist without "the people" AND a free (from tearany) state can not exist without a militia, ergo... "the people" shall not have their right to own and use firearms restricted.
It may surprise you that I do not own a gun and have thankfully never been in a position where I needed one outside of my service. I have never felt the need for one as a tool of personal/family self defense. I may or may not buy one in the future, but I strongly believe it is my natural (IE, not granted by a document or government) Right to do so should I so choose. I think it is a human right as we all have the right to defend ourselves and should be of the mindset to do so should the need arise. I think many people today are taught through school, politics, and societiey to think of the Bill of Rights as a listing of Rights that the Government gives us. This is not the case at all. The Bill or Rights is a document limiting the power of Government, not a document giving Rights to it's people. The authors believed that the Rights originated with each of us as individuals, and the main opposition to the Bill of Rights while it was being debated wasn't that these Rights didn't exist, but rather if they were written down on paper, that the Government or elements in society could seek to limit them through "interpretation" of what they really mean.
Given all that I have taken the time to write, I hope you will reexamine your understanding and opinion of the 2nd Amendment and indeed... what Rights are in general.
Back to the original topic though... Weapons.
I think weapons are tools. Guns are just one type of weapon, but almost anything can be used as a weapon. They can be used to protect or oppress the weak and helpless... Murder and steal or defend and save. Before firearms, there were more primitive and brutal weapons which placed more importance on the physical abilities of weilder. Ironically, firearms do more to protect the most vulnerable than previous weapons did.
I wish we could live in a world where evil acts by people didn't exist. I wish there was no need for self defense or defending others. Until such time exists, I think we have a right to weapons. "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men (humanity) to do nothing". In some countries, this will take the form of firearms, in others... It won't. Each free society/country should weigh the advantages and risks for themselves.