Call me crazy, but I am a dyed flaming redheaded conservative, alternative rock-loving, tattooed, Sinead O'Connor fan who knows every song from the '50's and '60's, and card carrying member of the Republican party.
Call me crazy, but I often wonder if Americans really understand the intention behind the second amendment. The exact wording of this amendment reads:

Amendment II

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.

All historical documents are inherently open to wide interpretation, and this amendment has seen many vast incarnations. Another blogger interpreted it to mean the right for target shooting and hunting; harmless enough. Of course the wackos in the world think it means they can stockpile weapons for their racist, religous causes; not so harmless.

In order to understand the true intention behind this amendment, one must look back, like all historical documents, to the climate in which it was written. We had just waged a revolutionary war against England. King George called us 'rabble in arms.' We were citizens in arms against tyranny and taxation without representation. Our revolution began when the British sent Redcoats door to door to confiscate the peoples' guns.

To this day, whether you choose to own a gun or not, you have this inalienable right. It is a safety net to protect us from oppression. It provides us with a way of rising up against our government should we feel oppressed. If the leaders took away our right to bear arms, we would have no recourse for fighting a corrupt government. There's been no shortage of dictators, in many countries. Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Mao, Idi Amin, Castro, Pol Pot. All these monsters began by confiscating private arms, then literally soaking the earth with the blood of tens and tens of millions of their people. The German people could not stage a coupe and fight Hitler with sticks.

Will this amendment be abused by evildoers and serial killers? Of course, but no law would stop them. There will always be evil in this world. Evil men do not follow rules. And if one should become our leader, we have the right to bear arms.""

Comments (Page 1)
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on Nov 05, 2004
Agree. But what you wrote is pretty much agreed by everyone.
on Nov 05, 2004
I like what Michael Badnarik (Constitution Scholar along with being the LP Candidate) said about this amendment:
From his website Badnarik.org, just forget the parts where he talks about him being President and you can get the gist of his argument.

Gun Control
If I have a "hot button" issue, this is definitely it. Don't even THINK about taking my guns! My rights are not negotiable, and I am totally unwilling to compromise when it comes to the Second Amendment.

Let me reiterate an axiom of my philosophy. Rights and privileges are polar opposites. A right is something that I can do without asking. A privilege is something that a higher authority allows me to do. It is utter nonsense for us to accept government permits in order to exercise an inalienable right. Allow me to point out some fallacies in the arguments frequently used by the anti-gun movement.

First, it is impossible for the Second Amendment to confer a "community right", because communities HAVE no rights. Individuals are real. Communities are abstract concepts. You can have individuals without communities, but you cannot have communities without individuals. Ergo, individuals must come first, and only the individuals that make up a community can have rights.

Second, the phrase "well regulated militia" is frequently misconstrued to mean:

lots of government regulations; and,
only the National Guard is allowed to carry guns.
It is necessary to understand the definitions common in America during the time of our war for independence. "Well regulated" used to mean "well prepared". Every man was expected to have a rifle, one pound of gun powder, and sixteen balls for his weapon. He was also expected to be ready to USE that rifle within sixty seconds of the alarm being sounded. Hence the term "minute man".

It is disingenuous for anyone to promote the argument that "militia" refers only to the National Guard in light of the fact that the Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791, and the National Guard wasn't formed until the early 1900's. This argument is totally without merit, unless you want to imply that our founding fathers were able to predict the future.

I sincerely believe that statistical evidence supports the idea that crime increases exponentially wherever gun control is instituted as the governing policy. Washington DC, New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles have the strictest gun control policies in the United States. The cities with the highest murder rates are Washington DC, New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. It doesn't take a PhD to be able to draw the proper conclusion from this evidence. England and Australia have recently instituted strict gun control measures, and both countries have seen the statistics on violent crime quadruple. In contrast, I am told that the city of Kennesaw, Georgia passed a municipal ordinance that requires homeowners to have a firearm available. Home invasions have dropped to less than 10% of their original rate, indicating to me that criminals value their lives more than they value your property.

I have no doubt that members of the anti-gun crowd would be happy to offer statistical data which appears to contradict the numbers I have just mentioned. Even if they could, their alternate statistics are not enough authority to strip me of my inalienable right to keep and bear arms. My rights are non-negotiable. I don't care if someone else doesn't like it. I don't care if they toss and turn at night, anxiously worried about what I might do with my firearm. My rights are not predicated on whether or not you LIKE what I'm doing. You only have a complaint when I present a "clear and present danger", which is not the case if I have my firearm in a holster.

Repealing unconstitutional gun control laws will be one of my first priorities as President of the United States.



I agree with you...World Dictators agree Gun Control works and politicians love unarmed peasants!!

Just adding more fuel to your fire with good stuff from Badnarik.

Plinko against Gun Control!!
on Nov 05, 2004
I do support right to have arms, but only up to a point. You don' need assault gun to kill lots of people or deers or whatever.
on Nov 05, 2004
But you need assault guns to defend against the black boots of Janet Renos Federal Enforcers busting into homes late at night and yanking children out of closets.
on Nov 05, 2004
Agree. But what you wrote is pretty much agreed by everyone.


If only it were so....how naive.
on Nov 05, 2004
World Dictators agree Gun Control works and politicians love unarmed peasants!!


Ain't it the truth!

You don' need assault gun to kill lots of people or deers or whatever.


I think you missed the point....
on Nov 05, 2004
You don' need assault gun to kill lots of people or deers or whatever


Show me an Assault rifle more powerful than a Deer Rifle and I will show you a flying pig (not talking Miss Piggy either)!!

Semi-automatic rifles...hmm oh wait we already had those without the "Assault rifles"...heck ever heard of a semi-automatic shotgun?

If anybody takes an Assault rifle for hunting than they must be hunting for small game because you can forget Deer, Elk and other big game...small bullet...main reason some military soldiers dislike the M-16, 5.56mm NATO round is too small a caliber to penetrate some things, i.e. heavily clothed Al Qaeda fighters, etc.

Now, if you were talking about a fully automatic M-60 I would than say that has been banned since 1930s and if you use it for hunting it may be outside the permit the LOCAL police have to give to you!!

Plinko against Gun Control!!
on Nov 05, 2004
Ok, but for the sake of argument, do you feel you have the right to bear say.... a grenade launcher, a fully-functioning 88mm Anti-aircraft gun or a 50 calibre rifle capable of hitting an armored target at a range of 1.5 miles?
on Nov 05, 2004

Reply #8 By: historyishere - 11/5/2004 2:39:59 AM
Ok, but for the sake of argument, do you feel you have the right to bear say.... a grenade launcher, a fully-functioning 88mm Anti-aircraft gun or a 50 calibre rifle capable of hitting an armored target at a range of 1.5 miles?


On the first 2 no! On the last you show that you know next to nothing about a 50 cal.round. To go against armored targets require an armor piercing round which is illegal to own! Also you ain't going to pierce any armor at 1.5 miles.
on Nov 05, 2004
Ok, but for the sake of argument, do you feel you have the right to bear say.... a grenade launcher, a fully-functioning 88mm Anti-aircraft gun or a 50 calibre rifle capable of hitting an armored target at a range of 1.5 miles?


Technically, yes. But the founders did not envision these type of weapons. Hence, most rational people would argue for banning them from private ownership. However the way to go about it, is something the founders did envision. It is called an amendment. Do not break the constitution because of moral outrage. Use the constitution and amend it. In the former case, you are worse than those advocating no control. In the latter, you have taken the high ground and convinced your fellow citizens of a worthy way to keep the spirit and letter of the constitution valid.
on Nov 05, 2004
Ok, but for the sake of argument, do you feel you have the right to bear say.... a grenade launcher, a fully-functioning 88mm Anti-aircraft gun or a 50 calibre rifle capable of hitting an armored target at a range of 1.5 miles?


On the first one the grenade launcher is banned because it is Military weapon plain and simple (though you can probably own a NON-functioning one), same reason you can't buy a TRUE M-16, though you can buy M-16 clones and M-4 clones.

The second one a fully functioning 88mm Anti-aircraft gun, do you even know how big a freaking' 88 it is, it is apart of a vehicle, i.e. one well known one is Russia's Shilka.

The third one, the only one you seem to be serious about, right now they are legal BUT the armor piercing shell that is a requirement for the rifle to pierce armor is illegal, so no worries there, plus a .50 caliber rifle is no little rifle nor is it a light rifle. The Barret M-95 (Military Sniper Rifle) weighs in at a hefty 27 lbs. without ammo that is a lot of rifle that somebody has to lug around...here's a Link to a little information page about the Barret (bolt-action) M-95.

Plinko Againt Gun Control, because I don't want to be an unarmed peasant!!
on Nov 05, 2004
I'm curious as to why this issue is even being brought up. Did I miss something?
on Nov 05, 2004
I'm curious as to why this issue is even being brought up. Did I miss something?


I don't know...oh well.

Soviet Plinko for my Comrades!!
on Nov 05, 2004
..thanks anyway Grim...

on Nov 05, 2004
To go against armored targets require an armor piercing round which is illegal to own! Also you ain't going to pierce any armor at 1.5 miles.


I looked into it, and you were right... not only that... but even at that range, you would be in for the fight of your life.

On the first one the grenade launcher is banned because it is Military weapon plain and simple (though you can probably own a NON-functioning one), same reason you can't buy a TRUE M-16, though you can buy M-16 clones and M-4 clones.


You can own one if a) it was made before 1986 and if you obtain a class III licence. The ammunition... well, that is a different story, as drmiler has pointed out.

The second one a fully functioning 88mm Anti-aircraft gun, do you even know how big a freaking' 88 it is, it is apart of a vehicle, i.e. one well known one is Russia's Shilka.


Ok, I admit with the 88, I was just pushing everyone's buttons.... because that one was just so outlandish, I admit it that was meant to garner a response... because it was a ridiculous proposition... I mean, how often would you need a weapon that could perhaps take down a modern airplane or put a serious dent in a tank?
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