Gun Control

[Jonathan Buhacoff]

Proposal:

Adopt the right to well-regulated militia and right to keep and bear arms.

Intent:

To achieve a balance between 1) the people’s rights to keep weapons for personal defense and resistance to a tyrannical government; and 2) the ability of government to regulate aspects of weapon ownership and usage to reduce the risk of violent crime.

Discussion:

Many people interpret the Second Amendment in the Constitution of the United States as prohibiting the government from making any restrictions at all on the types of arms that people may keep and bear, and even prohibiting the government from demanding registration of firearms. The proliferation of semi-automatic and fully-automatic weapons has been blamed for the rise in violent crimes and mass shootings, including multiple mass shootings at schools in recent years. There are towns that tried to prohibit students bringing weapons into public schools but had the courts rule against them, which defies common sense.

The right to well-regulated militia and the right to keep and bear arms are intended to improve upon the Second Amendment by separating the two major reasons for keeping and bearing arms: resistance against government tyranny and personal defense. Another reason for keeping and bearing arms is hunting, and this is included in the right to keep and bear arms.

The right to well-regulated militia ensures that people can be protected by a militia, even if not everyone can participate in a militia. A militia can operate defensive and offensive weapons that private citizens are not allowed to keep and bear so it has a fighting chance against organized crime and foreign invaders.

The right to keep and bear arms ensures that people can have personal weapons at home or with them when they travel, but these are not necessarily the same weapons a militia can use. The government may deny some people the use of firearms, or may require training or registration of firearms, without violating this right because the same people can keep and bear other kind of arms. In other words, the proposed right to keep and bear arms is not a right to keep and bear all kinds of arms, any place, any time.

Related posts

Common sense and weapons
Regulation of firearms
Common interpretation of the Second Amendment
Why the Second Amendment protects a well-regulated militia but not a private citizen militia

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