The text of the 2nd Amendment:
"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."
"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."
I don't interpret this text the same way the NRA does. The NRA started interpreting it for the rest of us some time ago and, given all the Senators and Representatives they've bought, there is a whole populations of Americans interpreting it the NRA way.
What I note is that the Amendment does not say (1) how many arms you may own or (2) what KIND of arms you may own. It does not say you can own a machine gun or a grenade launcher nor does it say you can own 100 pump-action shotguns.
In fact, it doesn't even say you can own guns of any kind at all. The word "arms" means "weapons". Could be pikes, spears and swords.
The NRA (and fellow travelers) interprets the 2nd Amendment to mean that the government cannot infringe your right to own whatever weapons you want to own in whatever number you choose of whatever quality. And it has convinced most of the USA to accept that.
But I don't accept their interpretation. The fact that the 2nd Amendment does NOT say how many of what kind and quality of arms you can have means that it is up to the Government to regulate that.
So, if the Government says you can have a single flintlock rifle and the ammunition and gunpowder of sufficient quantity to fire off 100 rounds, then THE GOVERNMENT HAS A RIGHT TO DO THAT.
Or, if the Government says you can have a rifle for hunting and a shotgun for home defense and no more, then THE GOVERNMENT HAS A RIGHT TO DO THAT.
And, I interpret the term "well regulated Militia" to be the collection of all Americans who keep and bear arms, which, according to the 2nd Amendment, should be "well REGULATED".
So, when your local ammosexuals start ranting about their right to own as many as possible of military grade weapons of any kind, you can tell them that, as a employer of the government of the USA, you are not going to let them do that.
Don't let the NRA tell you what the 2nd Amendment means. Read it for yourself. It does NOT mean unregulated freedom to own anything.
