Alright. If you read last month's Constitutional blog, you are well aware that we are discussing the Second Amendment. In that particular blog, I broke down almost word-for-word the meaning of the important words of that amendment. But just understanding what the basics of those words mean does nothing to soothe some of the controversy behind that amendment, because the second, causes more anger, hatred, and lawsuits, than probably any other of our amendments.
This month, I hope to bring up some of those points, both pro and con, that that amendment has been causing for years. We will start with some pros.
1) The Second Amendment offers every American the opportunity to defend themselves if they choose (there are mental health and felony restrictions). A citizen who carries and truly knows defensive shooting has an 'immediate' responder versus a 'first' responder.
Those words were told to me by a cop years ago when I and a buddy were cleaning out a foreclosed house in the ghetto. This made such an impact on me that 20 years later, I am passing those words on to you. As an example, it takes an average of 18 minutes for police to respond to a school shooter (National Sheriffs Association) but the shooter is finished in an average of 12.5 minutes. Might it be better if we had a few teachers or real armed security in those schools? People trained, willing, and able, to defend under pressure. Just asking.
2) The Second Amendment allows the people of the United States to collectively rise up and defend their country if the need ever truly arises. Of course, we have a standing army (the professionals), but sometimes bad things happen in very large portions. Let's take flooding for instance. If just your house floods, you realistically could handle most clean-up issues by yourself if need be. But if a 2-mile radius floods, homes, stores, and churches, etc. Outside extra help is certainly welcome, even if it is inferior to the professionals. The Second Amendment offers us this ability without legal authoritative permission as a country (though any killing from this action will be dealt with through the court of law if need be).
3) This amendment gives us the right and ability to defend against our government if need be. Basically, to organize and form our own armies (militias) as we see fit without government laws in the way. However, I believe that the true success of this happening gets smaller each day, as we have seen other militias disassembled in the past, what with the weaponry our police and armies possess. They have much deeper pockets and can therefore improve their firepower quicker than the average citizen. So this is a pro that is headed toward the con column.
4) Gun ownership works to reduce crime in neighborhoods where people carry and are willing to use it if necessary. The following facts were obtained from the website gunfacts.info under the 'Guns and Crime Prevention' category. This site is neither pro nor con gun based but strives to deliver the true facts.
Fact: Every year, people in the United States use guns to defend themselves against criminals an estimated 2,500,000 times – more than 6,500 people a day, or once every 13 seconds. Of these instances, 15.7% of the people using firearms defensively stated that they “almost certainly” saved their lives by doing so.
Fact: (Yearly) For every accidental death (802), suicide (16,869), or homicide (11,348) with a firearm (29,019), 13 lives (390,000) are preserved through defensive use.
Fact: Of the 2,500,000 times citizens use guns to defend themselves, 92% merely brandish their gun or fire a warning shot to scare off their attackers.
Fact: In most of the remaining 8% of defensive gun uses, a citizen never wounds his or her attacker (they fire warning shots), and in less than one in a thousand instances is the attacker killed.
There is a lot more info and quality reading on this site.
5) Just its mere presence in the Bill of Rights establishes that 'We the People' are given constitutional freedom to protect these given rights, even when the government or other entity is threatening to remove or reduce them. The second gives us the full right to protect the freedoms that are ours. This amendment is designed to help protect those rights from those who dislike or wish to change those rights.
6) Most people don't see it, but the First and Second Amendments, when adhered to, provide an incredible amount of balance between the government and the people. A balance of power that no other country possesses in their constitutions.
Now of course there are flaws in the Second Amendment also. Here are some of them.
1) The Second Amendment does not provide for the safe usage of firearms. It offers no rules or regulations on them, only guaranteeing us the right to own them. It is 'bare bones' written. done so in a time when everyone owned a firearm for defense on the farm and to self-police. Back then they knew how to handle firearms.
2) Homes with guns in them run a much higher risk of a violent accident or death. Accidents happen in the home. Many people acquire the weapon but fail to teach those around them how to respect and handle them, even if they are not a shooter. Or they fail to properly lock them down when not needed. These factors make gun ownership bring greater risks to the home.
3) The Second Amendment creates a greater risk of accelerated upheaval in society. The unhappy or violated groups may not sit down logically to solve problems, but instead pick up a gun to head to the last steps before fully working through the slower, safer, more peaceful steps. A problem that quite possibly could have been easily solved instead turns into a heated arms race.
4) This amendment has seen probably the largest amount of inconsistency in the law. To avoid overstepping their boundaries, the writers of the original Constitution, wanted to leave the general arms issue to be handled by the individual states. Of course, there were only 13 at the time and I am sure they expected a few more, but 50 states probably wasn't on their radar. Because of this issue, and others, different gun ownership problems vary among states. However, there has also been some sound legislation that has closed the cap over the years. If you are interested to learn more, google gun law court cases.
5) The amendment doesn't have exclusions in it to help contain personal problems based on actions, choices, or behaviors. Had these issues. plus mental health and criminal activities been included in the amendment, we would have a much better basis for gun ownership.
Now, since this is my blog, I am allowed my opinion. First, every time we have a mass shooting incident, people blame the guns and want more gun control laws.
Bullshit!
We already know that the current gun control laws don’t work. Why add more?
Instead, why don't we work harder to raise solid citizens and good communities?
Let's teach our children respect for guns and each other. I never lock my guns down because I never know when I might need them. There is always one under my mattress and my kids all were constantly taught not to touch them, and how to work them under my eye. I kept things very age-appropriate. Now, my wife and I always moved those weapons when the kid's friends came over. My children NEVER did anything close to acting poorly with a gun in their hand. This takes work and awareness. If you can't commit to this training, LOCK YOUR GUNS.
Let's instead work to make the solid citizen gun owners the majority of the population with the power to protect. More people need to get trained and properly carry. Make the criminal afraid of us, not the other way around. No more Mr. Nice Guy. We prosecute to the fullest, protect each other, not expect just the police to be the enforcers.
And no more multiple violations.
In closing, this amendment has seen inconsistent application in the law. It is an inaccurate statement to say that the U.S. has never had gun restrictions in place before. What we are doing is creating inconsistent case law based on current political desires, and this needs correcting. But the fact is, if one looks at history, one will find many instances where a country's government disarmed civilians and then was soon under siege. Our constitution gives us the right to own firearms to keep the people in control.
Don't lose it.
(Make sure you share and pass this on to all your friends so they can learn and grow with us).