MagusYanam wrote:Coyotero wrote:While I agree with you on principal (Except for the whole "Being a Christian" part). I can't say I'm terribly afraid of Islamic militants making any sort of organized mass-effort on our soil. Suicide attacks, I can foresee, not an organized military action though.
I am, despite being what some would call a "liberal" (Whatever the hell that means.). A heart-and-soul believer in the second amendment. While I am thankful to have fast, responsive police in my town, I have too much at stake to have to wait for them in a crisis. The ability to defend oneself and one's family (with deadly force if necessary) from those who would try to harm or kill, is a basic human right as far as I am concerned. I believe in castle doctrine and open-carry.
What does it mean, a 'heart-and-soul believer' in the second amendment? The second amendment as worded and as interpreted by one and a half centuries of Supreme Court precedent recognizes the necessity of maintaining a militia for the purposes of civil defense and qualifies the right to own weapons on that contingency. It is not (and never has been, up until recently) a guarantee of an individual right to own guns.
That may be your opinion but its not the opinion of the courts. The way the second amendment reads is thus; 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. That comma makes all the difference and is considered a second thought. "The right to keep and bear arms (RKBA)[1] or right to bear arms is the concept that people have a personal right to weapons for individual use, or a collective right to bear arms in a militia, or both.
The right to keep and bear arms varies by country and at times by jurisdiction within a sovereign state."
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/constitution/html/amdt2.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Ame ... nstitution
Unregulated private gun ownership should not be considered a right, nor should it be defended as a duty.
Unregulated? There are thousands of regulations and laws. The trouble is the criminal doesn't read or follow those regulations or laws. Again the courts have decided that we in the USA have a right to keep and bear arms, I am only sad that the federal government has denied us our rights to own machine guns cannon and other goodies. They do this not by making laws against it, (machine guns etc are legal to own) but rather make it rather impossible to obtain these weapons by extreme expense and red tape. For example a Colt M-16 fully automatic is about 15 grand on the market. A 20mm cannon is around 25>50K. That is the price of the weapons and does not include the licence fees etc. which would increase those figures by 10 to 20%.
Trusting weapons to those who are under no obligation to be extensively and exhaustively trained in their proper use, maintenance and storage is both dangerous and irresponsible.
Automobiles are more dangerous as are other household products. The owner bears liability of the safe use of the weapons as they should. If someone is injured by ill responsible use we have laws to correct that.
Instead, I think national service should be a universal duty, whether military or civilian, as it is in several European countries (such as Switzerland and the Nordic countries).
I wouldn't be totally against that. Those guys get to keep their full auto FALs, grenades and other neat equipment in their closets! I am sure the inner city gangs would love it! Just kidding. Yes its not a bad idea but we have a much different social makeup than those socialistic countries, however the way its (Obama land) going we may be calling each other comrade soon enough!
For Christians, to whom the sword and retaliatory violence are forbidden by Christ himself in the Gospel of Matthew, civilian service should be the preferred option, but the military discipline should be respected for those who choose it out of civil obligation.
Christians aren't forbidden to defend themselves. Nor are they forbidden to participate in military service. And there those of us that have issues with some forms of governing and mistrust both law enforcement and government to varying degrees. Look at what happened after Katerina*. That was a preview of what could happen, and it was mild. Please prepare yourself so you will be an asset not a burden on those that are prepared with food clean water and the ability to defend their families and property against terror attacks or natural disaster etc.
Thanks for your reply I think your words are a response from fear mongering and a basic revulsion to weapons etc. You might want to read some pro gun pro survivalist material that originates from family oriented sources.
*
http://gunwatch.blogspot.com/2007_12_01_archive.html
P4JC
Start em out early! God love em'. THIS is how you instill gun safety responsibility in individuals. Spend as much time as possible with your children and teach them that for every action there is a reaction, they will be fine.
(below). My Niece, shooting her .22, and some friends giving their Ak-47s a work out (I prefer the AR/M-16 type rifles) Shot at my favorite unregulated gathering spot for gun loving hillbillies and other fine folk. Its a federally funded shooting range, Pond mountain range in Hampton Tennessee just a few hundred meters from beautiful Watauga Lake.
When Selfish Gene author Richard Dawkins challenged physicist John Barrow on his formulation of the constants of nature at last summer Templeton-Cambridge Journalism Fellowship lectures, Barrow laughed and said, “You have a problem with these ideas, Richard, because you aren''t really a scientist. You''re a biologist ! (Woo Hoo you go Barrow!)
