08-03-2010, 10:03 PM
Hi,
Haven't we been around this Maypole before? Two things:
First, I say this without anger, without rancor, and without malice, but if you are not a citizen of the USA, then you really have no say in the matter. And to judge the nation on the basis of extremists on either side is both insulting to the majority and wrong.
Second, the Second Amendment still stands in all of its ambiguous glory. Anyone with strong pro or anti gun feelings should strive to get it repealed and a new, unambiguous amendment passed in its place. As it stands, under one interpretation, all gun control laws are unconstitutional. The other interpretation is even more ludicrous -- aren't armies normally armed? Why would the founding fathers feel that we needed an amendment just to arm our armies (i.e., militia)?
Of course, until things get extreme, nothing will change except the heat of the arguments. We need a (maybe few) cycle of the supreme court throwing out all gun control laws, followed by legislatures at all levels passing new ones to create the chaos out of which a new, and hopefully better, basis will be built. Unfortunately, the one complex sentence of the original will probably be replaced by a thousand page, equally complex and equally obscure document. And if recent history is any indicator, when the dust settles, part of the law will be that every person will have to own a gun or pay an annual fine for not doing so.
Bah!
--Pete
(08-03-2010, 08:36 PM)ShadowHM Wrote: And at the same time your culture clings to the 'we really really need our guns' meme, with all those differing rationale's offered, depending on who is doing the 'splaining this time.
Haven't we been around this Maypole before? Two things:
First, I say this without anger, without rancor, and without malice, but if you are not a citizen of the USA, then you really have no say in the matter. And to judge the nation on the basis of extremists on either side is both insulting to the majority and wrong.
Second, the Second Amendment still stands in all of its ambiguous glory. Anyone with strong pro or anti gun feelings should strive to get it repealed and a new, unambiguous amendment passed in its place. As it stands, under one interpretation, all gun control laws are unconstitutional. The other interpretation is even more ludicrous -- aren't armies normally armed? Why would the founding fathers feel that we needed an amendment just to arm our armies (i.e., militia)?
Of course, until things get extreme, nothing will change except the heat of the arguments. We need a (maybe few) cycle of the supreme court throwing out all gun control laws, followed by legislatures at all levels passing new ones to create the chaos out of which a new, and hopefully better, basis will be built. Unfortunately, the one complex sentence of the original will probably be replaced by a thousand page, equally complex and equally obscure document. And if recent history is any indicator, when the dust settles, part of the law will be that every person will have to own a gun or pay an annual fine for not doing so.
Bah!
--Pete
How big was the aquarium in Noah's ark?