BANG ! BANG !

In light of yesterday’s horrific killings at Virginia Tech. and the ease with which the killer acquired his weapons, there will doubtless be a new round of heated debates about gun control. With that in mind, I think it’s appropriate to take a look at the second amendment.

This is the amendment, of course, that guarantees the right to bear arms. Doesn’t it? Well, maybe so, maybe not. Have you ever read it? It’s real short – only 27 words. Here’s what it says:

“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.”

Anyone who can interpret that sentence to mean that the right to gun ownership somehow exists independently of the need for a militia has a unique command of the English language, not to mention, balls of steel. The amendment did not intend gun ownership for self-defense, for sport, or for killing thirty-two people on a college campus. It was clearly intended to satisfy the 18th Century need for an armed citizenry to guard against tyranny, either foreign or home grown. Since every state in the nation now has its own National Guard, that need no longer exists.

The rest is hubris.

a foot on either side