“I myself am a responsible gun owner,” Mark O’ Mara assures readers at cnn.com, below a photo montage of “the worst mass shootings in American history.” “I believe in the right to justified self-defense. [But] I also believe that reasonable restrictions to assure that only law-abiding citizens can purchase firearms better prevents over-restriction of our Second Amendment.” So by allowing reasonable restrictions on American gun rights gun owner prevent unreasonable restrictions like . . . New York’s ban on “assault weapons” and Colorado’s ban on “high-capacity magazines.” But wait! O’Mara’s not done waving the white flag . . .
Our Constitution is a resilient force, and our Bill of Rights has survived countless modifications and restrictions without the erosion of fundamental freedoms. Our Second Amendment right is no different: It can survive modification and restriction without the fear that it will vanish altogether.
Tell that to the residents of New Jersey, none of whom can satisfy the “justifiable need” standard imposed by the State on residents who aspire to exercise the “bear” part of “keep and bear arms.” Again, Mark O’Mara wants Americans to surrender their firearms freedom to maintain it- which is like paying an extortionist a bit of money to prevent him from taking a lot of money later. I guess O’Mara missed NRA Veep Wayne LaPierre’s “stand and fight speech.” How ironic is that?
Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently pledged $50 million to address gun issues. In the face of such a concerted effort, the failure of gun rights advocates to allow any reasonable flexibility to our right to bear arms could mean that it will eventually buckle under the weight of thoughtful opposition propelled to action by the next series of tragic and, unfortunately, inevitable mass shootings.
Like hell it will. [h/t DrVino]