Gun Control

As an American, I must confess to being confounded by the power of the gun lobby. It seems common sense has gone right out the window. Our citizens are victims of gun crime every day. Unfortunately, only the most spectacular make the headlines.

But sometimes sensationalism is exactly what is needed to shake this nation from its lethargy and begin a dialogue about this issue. I wish the heartbreaking assassination attempt on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Arizona was an isolated one, but alas, it is not.

That said, I do understand what our founding father's meant when creating the constitutional right to bear arms.

It is important to understand the historic underpinnings of this amendment. We were a nation being created. By and large, we came from England and a very repressive government. There was little trust for anything resembling government.

The right to bear arms was merely a reflection of that mistrust.

Most don't realize the right to bear arms was initially intended to protect the citizenry from THE GOVERNMENT and from tyranny. No government would be able to conquer and take control if the people were armed and could defend themselves. Not even our own.

Remember we were a nation at war. We needed an armed militia in order to win. And we did win, largely as a result of this militia.

There are those who argue that limiting anything having to do with guns creates a slippery slope. Once one law limiting the right to bear arms is created, another will follow. Once that process starts, it will never stop until that right, along with others, will erode and disappear.

Unfortunately, there is compelling historical evidence to back that claim. Bureaucrats and power mongers will not stop until they have complete control, if we let them. The right to bear arms gives these people pause. And it should.

In spite of this, concessions on gun control have been made, even by its staunchest opponents. In almost every instance, these pieces of legislation have been a mere token; the intent being to quell debate and remove the issue from the spotlight, not to limit gun ownership and affect real change.

And it has worked.

I believe in the right to bear arms. I believe there is profound wisdom in this amendment. But I also believe there is plenty of room for change.

~ Loopholes for gun sales need to be closed completely.

~ Restrictions on ownership need to be enforced without exception.

~ Mandatory penalties for the use of a gun in the commission of a crime need to be drastically increased and applied without mercy.

~ Military type weapons should be removed from the market and made illegal under all circumstances.

~ Hand-gun ownership should be limited to non-automatic weapons and the clip size needs to be limited.

There are many more changes, believe me.

But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong.