Taking aim.... at the 2nd Amendment

   Since the latest tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, the battle cry of the gun advocates has been the 2^nd Amendment and how the 'government' wants to take away the “right” to own a gun (well maybe not everyone in government). I had not looked at the Bill of Rights or the U.S. Constitution for a long time so I dug out a few history books and went to the internet to refresh my memory.

   Even in the early days of the new nation, many were wary that, after going through a war fought for the independence from the tyranny of the English, a new government would quickly step in and take control, treading on the new found freedoms. In an effort to prevent this from happening, the Founding Fathers penned the Constitution and later several amendment, the first ten known as the Bill of Rights. But have those 'rights' changed because the world has changed?

   What is truly interesting to me is that much of the Constitution and the early amendments were based in English law, the very laws which were the reasons for entering into war. Yet the early leaders realized one thing, one of the a flaw of being human: “that with power comes fear, the fear losing control.”

   Now, the Constitution has been viewed by the experts as a living document, one that should adjust to the changing times and reflect changes in society. Far be it that anyone of the “Fathers” could see 350 years into the future though. Can you imagine Ben Franklin reading about Newtown on his Ipad?   

    Recent shooting massacres have caused many to take aim at the 2^nd Amendment, the right to Bear Arms, more commonly referred to as 'gun ownership'. A quick look at the original wording addresses the notion of a well regulated Militia to keep the peace and “security of a free State and that the “right of people to keep bears arms shall not be infringed. (A quick reminder, many Americans already owned guns at the time because they had been part of the war, or needed to hunt for food)

   Today, gun ownership appears to be more than just about owning a gun. Some see it as the last 'real hold' on personal freedom and independence. In the 350 plus years since the Revolution, the feeling of many has been that government has continued to erode the individual freedoms that so many had fought valiantly to gain. Paranoia is alive and well? Perhaps that is so, but...

   The world is a different place today. Those who drafted the Constitution clearly understood that things would change, but they had no clue how much. Is there a need for a ”regulated Militia" today ? Probably not, but don’t tell some of those living the “The Kingdom” of northern Vermont or the rural areas of the mid-west. Is there a need to protect ones personal property? For many, gun ownership is that means to that protection.

   But I think I may have figured out why owning a gun is so important to so many. A gun is something that you can buy, hold and touch. You can name it, clean it, talk to it. It represents “real” individual freedom and power and, when the fear is that government may take that right away, it is just too much for some to bare. Just another case of'government control'.

   But let's not forget that with “rights” come responsibilities. And who gives those rights?  Let the discussion continue.