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Gun Regulation [1]
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Date: 2023-05-08
I am deeply distressed by the continuous and growing gun violence in our Nation. If we truly want change, we in this Nation need to change gun ownership to a privilege rather than a right. To begin that process we need to transition the thought process on the Second Amendment. The Second Amendment has had a long history of controversy. The complete text of the Second Amendment is: "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." The initial reading of the primary statement would indicate that it is about a well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of the free state, indicates that the founders needed and wanted law and order, and defense forces to protect their freedoms and their States. The second passage of the Amendment could be the State referring to itself as the “people”, stating that the Federal government could not disarm it. We must remember that this was an era prior to the establishment of the National Guard system and the law enforcement agencies. The Second Amendment is the foundation of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and other pro-gun groups arguments of the right for arming this Nation to the teeth and changing the argument on the Second Amendment could be critical to correcting the epidemic of gun violence. That argument appears contrary to the documented goals of a young Nation that was trying to establish itself as a governing body at the state and national level and securing the safety of its citizenry.
The Tenth Amendment declares that any powers not explicitly delegated to the Federal government in the Constitution are left to the States. So the Federal Government is precluded from regulating arms that puts the ball in each States dominion and the citizenry needs to decide how they want to regulate guns at each state level.
The current views of the NRA and MAGA-ites who championed the view that the Second Amendment is just about the unregulated right to bear arms, which is contrary to the “well regulated” statement at the beginning of the amendment. The truth is the unregulated arming every citizen will only result in chaos where each and every individual will be judge, jury and executioner and every instance of an argument, conflict, slight, disagreement or interaction results in an automatic death penalty. Additionally, with everyone armed there is no need for legislatures to create laws, law enforcement to enforce the laws, judiciary to adjudicate the laws as everyone will decide what is proper on their own. Someone plays their music too loud or music you don’t like, you shoot them. Someone knocks on your door, you shoot them. Someone you don’t know turns into your driveway, you shoot them. If any of these situations turn into a gunbattle, who is the good guy? (another argument of the NRA). The white guy, the well-dressed guy, who is the good guy? What about our law enforcement officers who has to enforce the laws at traffic stops, noise violations, domestic disputes, thefts, do they come in armed to the teeth looking like an invading military force, fulfilling the pronouncements of the NRA. Then how do you feel if you are stopped by law enforcement for minor infractions and they come with the full force of the police?
Will making gun ownership a privilege reduce the number of guns? It’s a question that only time will answer, but it will make it easier to regulate when compared to the unregulated right of ownership. We can look at cars, where driving is a privilege, we can look at the large number of cars on the road. But you drive under the influence you lose your driving privileges, can the same be said of shooting under the influence?
What is the economic cost of gun violence? At some point the question has to come up. In the immediate there is the tragic personal cost, loss of life and the medical cost to the survivors, the loss of a child, mother, father, friends, and cost to the personal psyche. What is the cost to the local community? There is the psychological cost to the community of a mass casualty event, and the continuing cost of the resulting post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on members of the community. If the violence occurred on a event or at a landmark, what will be the cost to that event date or landmark in conjunction with future events? What is the cost to the Nation, we are now on travel alert restrictions due to gun violence, so there is loss of those funds coming from foreign visitors. There is the loss of reputation of the Nation. The economics of gun violence is another reason to switch to privilege over right to gun ownership.
To change the debate on guns we have to start with the premises of changing right to privilege. The current state of debate over gun ownership has to pivot on the belief that gun ownership is a privilege, not a right! With privilege comes qualifications and regulation. Driving is a privilege, not a right and look at the number of drivers across this Nation. Much like the right to drive is a privilege that does not limit the number of automobiles that are in existence and available to each citizen.
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