Certain people who have no reading comprehension skills may get the impression I think guns should be illegal. Really, I would just put it in the same category as crack or meth or motorcycles or skydiving or whatever people do that they enjoy, even though it may kill them.
But one thing that always made me think was, what constitutes “arms?” If you’re wondering why I ask, it’s because the second amendment grants the “right to bear arms.”
I’m not interested in trying to say modern guns are not muzzle-loaded muskets and therefore not included. No. Rather, I wonder things like… are landmines considered arms? Hand grenades? Rocket launchers? Flamethrowers? Missiles? Bombs? Nuclear weapons? Fighter jets? Tanks? Robots armed with weapons on motion detectors? Makes me wish we had laser weapons… patience…
So I’m curious what weapons people would like to see sold publicly, or not sold publicly. Feel free to include made up weapons as well, like freeze rays or light sabers.
Does “arms” mean any weapon at all?
I think "arms" as it was drafted in the Constitution meant any device that could be held (like a gun or rifle) but you bring up an intersting point: What about other devices? Are they arms? I think a bigger question is are "we" a militia? I don't think so. That document was drafted when we had an unstable central government. But I wont say that to an NRA nut. Bullets are bad for my health.
ReplyDeletetypo: interesting/ millitia
ReplyDeleteWell, they had cannon back then, so if you want to argue about original intent, I guess you could at least include artillery. But to be honest... I don't give much of a damn about "oroginal intent." The wording is also weird, because as long as there are militias, the right to bear arms cannot be infringed, and militias are protected by the right to assemble.
ReplyDeleteBut I wonder where people would draw the line. I think the best question is: should Bill Gates be allowed to buy a nuclear weapon?