this post was submitted on 20 Aug 2024
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Liberal Gun Owners
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God I wish we could apply that to every right, y'know? Like, wouldn't it be great if we could test people before they could vote, so that we knew that they understood the functions of the different branches of gov't, the limitations, the history of legislation, the origins of common law and where our style of government comes from... It would be so wonderful if rights weren't really rights at all, but were privileges only given to the most well educated and intelligent people.
Maybe even some literacy tests.
Oh, or if you needed a license and credentials in order to speak in public! That would be awesome! Or if you needed to be an attorney to assert your right to remain silent!
Wouldn't be great if the police could just search anyone for any reason (or no reason) at any time unless they have obtained a privacy permit? Think of how many criminals they could catch, including people who shouldn't have guns, if they could just set up road blocks and strip search everyone who comes through (except those with permits, obviously). For good measure they should make us all take off our shoes too.
The 2nd amendment doesn't give the right to all Americans to have guns, it simply provisions a well regulated militia. Right now we don't have sufficient regulation to keep gun violence at a reasonable rate, so we clearly don't have a well regulated militia as detailed in the constitution
Categorically false. When you look at the circumstances surrounding the drafting of 2A, it's clear what the framers intended. (EVERY able-bodied, white, adult male was a member of the militia. They were obligated to provide their own militarily-suitable arms, and were likewise obligated to train themselves in their use. Moreover, the existence of the right was a holdover from English common law, which recognized the right of people to be armed. Oh, and the first battle of the American Revolution? It was because the British were trying to seize arms, including a cannon, that the people had been using to protect themselves from First Nations peoples.) When you look at the debate that surrounded the National Firearms Act of 1934, it's clear that they knew a ban wouldn't pass court review; hence the reason that the opted for a tax. (And, BTW, they originally intended to include pistols; that fact that 'short barrel rifles' are part of the NFA today is because they were sloppy in making the edits prior to passage.) When you look at nearly 250 years of precedent, it's clear that it's an individual right. And when you look at SCOTUS rulings--Heller v. D.C., McDonald v. Chicago, Bruen v. NYSPRA--it's definite.
BTW, "well regulated" at the time was understood to mean trained, specifically people that knew how to use the arms they had the right to possess.