Gun Control and the Second Amendment
GUN CONTROL AND THE SECOND AMENDMENT
The Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America asserts, “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.” At the time when this amendment was passed, the country was still primarily an agrarian and hunting society, guns were a household item, and necessary for daily life. The armed farmer was the principal soldier in the revolution to establish an independent country. The framers of the Constitution understood that these gun-wielding countrymen were essential to the revolution, and wanted to insure the people would never be defenseless. In recent decades, with the waning practical application of guns in an industrialized nation, the Second Amendment has come under much fire. Guns are merely a tool. In the hands of immoral and undisciplined people, they are put to evil purposes. The problem lies in the fact that the amendment was created to deal with the muzzle-loaders of the time, and now guns have evolved into killing machines, not just hunting rifles. These new guns however, are no more capable of killing without a man controlling them; guns have been prevalent for literally hundreds of years without being used as weapons for humans against humans, except in times of war. Guns have been in American homes since 1776, and they were not associated with violence until recently. The current trend of school and workplace violence is due to the desensitization of the American people through television, movies and even music.
When our fore fathers first came onto this land, they were oppressed by their rulers. These wise men decided to stage a revolt against their government and start up a new government, with a set of rules, laws and rights. They did not stage this massive revolt by negotiation or arbitration but with blood shed on both sides. When the revolt...