None of the countries that have endured mass shootings and taken immediate, meaningful action to collect guns from the populace and/or restrict the purchase of firearms has anything like the hurdle the Second Amendment forces us to jump. The Second Amendment has only 27 words: “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.”
Gun rights advocates can quote the last 14 words from memory but seem unable to choke down the first 13. It seems counterintuitive that AR-style rifles should be available for the asking when the Constitution seems to give Congress the authority to restrict the sale and possession of those military arms.
It’s a sad situation when the “originalists” in our government, at all levels, have succumbed to the interpretation of the Second Amendment by an organization whose only purpose is to keep the United States armed and afraid. The vast majority of gun owners are peaceful, law-abiding and responsible in the use of firearms.
It’s a tragedy that the intent of the Second Amendment has been hijacked by those who insist that the amendment has only 14 words. You want to play with military-style/grade weapons? Join the National Guard. The Second Amendment is the very deadly third rail of politics.
