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Now as I continue on the journey to discover the right that people feel that they are losing or are under attack I go to right number 2 on the USA list. The Right to Bear Arms.  I am a gun owner,  in fact I own multiple guns.

The right to bear arms is part of the 2nd amendment to our constitution. In my opinion it is also the most misunderstood, twisted and politicized amendment to the Constitution.  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.  This one simple sentence has been debated since it was written.

The first part of the sentence is that a well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a Free State is one part of the amendment that has been mostly forgotten. Now our US military is a well regulated organization that is under the control of our Civilian Government headed by our Commander and Chief,  the President. So under that line of thinking any militia being necessary to the security of a Free State would also be under the control of the civilian government headed by the Governor of each State. Now I have to ask, when was the last time any governor of any state called for the formation of a militia. 

Nowhere in the amendment does it say that you have a right to bear arms to protect yourself. The courts have been much divided on this and in some cases have actually legislated from the bench. In many cases this comes down to personal belief and the belief of the community and the state. I do not believe that it is something that should be legislated by the bench. I do believe that I have the right to protect my family and property but that right was not given to me by the second amendment. The State and local governments is where I get that right and that is where it should stay, with the State and local governments. I do not think that gun control is a one of those one size fits all situations. It is ok to have different rules in Billings Montana than in New York city. It is ok to have different rules in Greenville Ohio than in Cleveland Ohio. What we don’t need is a bunch of self a appointed vigilantes running around with AR15s when the community does not want them there. We also don’t need a bunch of people shooting at police because they think of them as the enemy.

Now if you read up on the second amendment you will see that some of the framers of the Constitution feared that they needed to protect themselves from a central government that would disarm the people and do away with slavery. In some cases the slaves out numbered the slavers and they needed a militia to put down a slave rebellion. The economy of the South was cotton and that was a labor intensive crop, they needed slaves to maintain that economy. Now race and guns have gone hand-in-hand since the revolution. Slavery is over but the racism of the 2nd amendment is still there. To deny that is just being ignorant. When people say that they have to protect themselves I always wonder what color the person is they feel that they have to protect themselves from. When you say stand your ground what is the color of the person that you want to stand your ground?  Sometimes our prejudices get the best of us and we don’t really search within ourselves to really explore what the real problems are and what the real answers are.

The question was is our right to bear arms under threat?  I would say yes, but not from government legislation as much as the National Guard has made it a service that was no longer needed. Militias were always ineffective for our national protection and were replaced by the National Guard. There is no need to have a well regulated State Militia.Maybe it is time to get rid of the Second Admendment.

Now that does not mean we all should have our guns taken away and I don’t want mine taken away. I plan on to continue to hunt with my sons and grandchildren. I also plan to protect my home if I need to but I hope I never do. I do not feel I have to run around on the city streets trying to look like some tough patriot when I know that owning a gun may be my right it is not what gives me freedom.

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