Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
In over 230 years that this great Republic has been in existence things have changed, there are many historical curiousities that while quaint and interesting no longer serve a useful societial purpose. Even in our bodies there is the humble appendix that also seems to serve no useful purpose and all too frerquently becomes inflamed with life threatening consequenses. We undergo the knife and cut out the source of our pain and suffering. The United States Constitution and its Addendum the Bill of Rights is not imuune to having bits and pieces that history has passed by. This document is not written in stone by the finger of GOD. The Founding Fathers were not gods or demigods and would probably be the first to affriome this statement. They were men of good faith, trust and intentions and were the great comprimisers. How many of the great issues of the day were settled over a pint of Ale and a great man of letters retiring for an evening to get it all down on paper. I propose that the Second Ammendment of the Bill of Rights is just such a piece of constitutional anacronysm. It very likely serves no useful purpose! The purpose can't be to violently overthrow the US Government. We made even the mere advocacy of doing so a Federal crime in the 1950s. Do you really think the Founding Fathers intended to let citizens terminate a Presidency or a Congressman? Our stuborn refusial to control the unfettered access to firearms has cost 1 in 9 US Presidents their lives and scared the face of US history. In the same time, how many British Kings, Queens or Prime Ministers has been claimed by gunfire? It can't have anything to do with forming a well ordered militia. We have gone far beyong the day when we relied on a force of able bodied men mustered out on the town commons to protect home and hearth. Is that really practical in an age of ICBMs, Smart Bombs and unmanned drones? If this were the true purpose of the Second Ammendment we would have gun laws like the two modern states that rely on citizen militias and reservists to be the foundation of their national defense, the Israelis and the Swiss.
Like our Israeli or Swiss friends, you have a gun the authorities know who you are, where to find you and your phone number, you have to demonstrate your competence and you have to be ready to report even if the call comes at 3 am. So the only purpose the Second Ammendment and our unreasonable gun laws seem to have is to have is to provide a future Jared Loughner a way to go out in a blaze of gunfire if not the glory his twisted mind creates. Did you notice the little smile on that wild eyed face. He enjoyed it , by god he enjoyed every round he got off. It is time to chamge the Second Ammendment and our our gun laws, if not to make this a more perfect union but to ensure that the face of Jared Loughner does not become the face that the world comes to associate with America. We can do it.
the Second Ammendment of the Bill of Rights ... serves no useful purpose! The purpose can't be to violently overthrow the US Government. We made even the mere advocacy of doing so a Federal crime in the 1950s.
It's a shame that despite your founding fathers rhetoric, you don't really understand the purpose of the 2nd Amendment.
Oh, and the second part of the above quote, coupled with you suggesting what you are, scares the daylights out of me. The kind of thinking you're apparently engaging in is exactly why we do need the 2nd Amendment. You're a sheep that's willing to be led to slaughter, and while you may be content in that position, I'm not.
Certain things are timeless and intrinsic to the existence of a free people. This is what the Founding Fathers clearly understood. An armed citizenry is necessary for the perpetuation of a constitutional republic. It is the ultimate defense against a tyrannical government.
Robert Bork, the infamous right wing judge nominated by Ronald Reagan, said in 1989 that the words of the Second Amendment "guarantee the right of states to form militias, not for individuals to bear arms"
Republican-appointed Chief Justice Warren Burger charged the N.R.A. with dishonesty for its interpretation of the Second Amendment: "...one of the greatest pieces of fraud, I repeat the word 'fraud' on the American public by special interest groups that I have ever seen in my lifetime."
Robert Bork, the infamous right wing judge nominated by Ronald Reagan, said in 1989 that the words of the Second Amendment "guarantee the right of states to form militias, not for individuals to bear arms"
Republican-appointed Chief Justice Warren Burger charged the N.R.A. with dishonesty for its interpretation of the Second Amendment: "...one of the greatest pieces of fraud, I repeat the word 'fraud' on the American public by special interest groups that I have ever seen in my lifetime."
Well guess what...they were wrong! The current SCOTUS has put the argument to rest and has interperted the Constitution as it was written. The individual is mentioned in many other amendments and it means all citizens but only in the Second it means something else? Please!
Certain things are timeless and intrinsic to the existence of a free people. This is what the Founding Fathers clearly understood. An armed citizenry is necessary for the perpetuation of a constitutional republic. It is the ultimate defense against a tyrannical government.
Good post.
The problem is that when the minds of the citizens become dull, and/or citizens are bought by the government, the Second Amendment seems useless.
Change 2nd ammendment to 1st-its just as old and inapplicable, right?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
