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Are we ready for gun control? Maybe this will work. [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2023-08-31
The failure to produce significant gun legislation in America has been driven largely by right wing activists and the NRA. Their brandishing of the 2nd Amendment has been the cornerstone of every effort to prevent any meaningful conversation, let alone legislation regarding gun control in this country.
The gun lobbies and right wingers have managed to control the conversation by waving their various interpretations of the amendment every time the issue is raised. They have even gotten SCOTUS to agree to some of their wacky interpretations. The thing is, none of these interpretations has ever addressed what a militia is; which leaves the interpretation of militia open to a lot of interpretation.
Sometimes it is easier to attack a problem by re-defining the parameters, rather than simply hammering away at the same old issues. Look at how conservatives have managed to slowly but surely erode abortion rights by simply making small but consistent changes to various statutes, each of which gets them closer to their goal.
Here’s a thought. If the 2nd Amendment is so important to the right, maybe it is time for progressives to embrace that 2nd Amendment. Why not create legitimate, sanctioned, state militias, which are “well regulated”. Then people who want to own bazookas can join one of those militias. The militias can have all kinds of background checks to weed out undesirables, much like the military does; and then there should be no problem getting non-militia weapons off the streets.
Liberals should take a page from the conservative play book. Create a state militia that upholds the very essence of the founding father’s ideals and declare it to be the “legitimate” militia. It might take a few steps; create the militia, then get people to sign up for it, and then declare it to be the “only legitimate” militia. Then you can make everyone else turn in or register their guns. Surely the responsible and patriotic right wingers would be happy to support the Constitution and donate their guns to the legitimate militia.
An elegant solution that even SCOTUS and the NRA would have to admire!
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