Reader defends gun rights, but urges some restrictions
I am a member of the NRA, and strongly defend our Second Amendment right to bear arms.
I also agree that private ownership of military fully automatic weapons and machine guns is a real stretch to the intention of the Second Amendment rights. Also, it would be appropriate to have gun registration at gun shows. And, if a legitimate person is on a No Fly List, he/she should not have a right to guns, However, the federal government needs to purge this list before enforcement because there are people on it erroneously.
For the millions of law abiding citizens who hunt, and are gun sports enthusiasts, they have every right to own their guns. This also includes lawful citizens who own guns for personal protection including hand guns, and the right to concealed carry if and when it’s passed into law.
Aside from the actual terrorists and professional assassins, most of the domestic shooters have been mentally challenged and irresponsible, and should not have the right to have access to guns. They should all be identified and denied gun rights.
Yet, the true terrorists – foreign and domestic – and the lone wolves will get guns regardless of the gun laws. They get them directly from ISIS, as for example, or on the U.S. black market. This fear is driving our citizens to buy guns by the thousands, especially since the recent California shootings. This self protection represents the essence of our Second Amendment rights.
It is said, and truthfully so, that if the government outlaws guns, the outlaws will have the guns. In spite of this, enacting the above exceptions will surely cut down on illegal gun ownership and availability in the U.S.
I know that the NRA disagrees with the above exceptions to gun ownership, because they feel that once certain criteria are outlawed, our entire Second Amendment is at risk. There is some truth to this, but with so many acts of slaughter and carnage to human beings in the U.S. today (almost weekly in the last six months), it is reasonable and logical to put the above exceptions as caveats to our gun laws.
The world has changed drastically in the past 10 years, and one way to stem the flow of gun violence is to curtail the ability for the bad guys to have guns, while protecting the rights of law-abiding citizens to have them.
Ron Reynolds
Waupaca