Well, compare that with the "other side"- the people that hold the 2nd Amendment so sacrosanct that the very notion of exploring what it means today and how to apply it reasonably to our culture as it stands today is akin to heresy and makes you immediately a non-patriot.
I don't know if there was a real watershed moment where we had to choose sides and we couldn't explore topics without becoming polarized- but it happened.
What it means today is the same thing it meant when it was written. That the people have the right to own firearms because the State will need to raise a militia to fight something. In addition, to make the government fearful of it's people so that it did not overstep. The Constitution is a limit on Government rather than rights guaranteed to us.Well, compare that with the "other side"- the people that hold the 2nd Amendment so sacrosanct that the very notion of exploring what it means today and how to apply it reasonably to our culture as it stands today is akin to heresy and makes you immediately a non-patriot.
I don't know if there was a real watershed moment where we had to choose sides and we couldn't explore topics without becoming polarized- but it happened.
The time, technology, and context of when that was written has changed. The country as we know it didn't exist when that was written- or, if you want to be real precise, the country was 11 years old. Blacks weren't technically human, women couldn't read or vote, and we were busy burning people alive for practicing magic. It was a weird time.What it means today is the same thing it meant when it was written. That the people have the right to own firearms because the State will need to raise a militia to fight something. In addition, to make the government fearful of it's people so that it did not overstep. The Constitution is a limit on Government rather than rights guaranteed to us.
Maybe we can leave the 2nd just the way it's written, but enact legislature that applies restrictions more reasonably to today's society.
Ummm wow. There was a time I had wanted to see her as a Presidential candidate. Disappointing.
Condoleezza Rice: It’s time to discuss what Second Amendment ‘means in the modern world’
Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday that it’s time to discuss what the Second Amendment “means in the modern world” in light of last week’s mass school shooting in Parkland, Florida.
Ms. Rice, who served under President George W. Bush, said that while the Second Amendment remains “indivisible,” she doesn’t think civilians should have access to guns like the AR-15, which was used by 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz to fatally shoot 17 students and teachers on Valentine’s Day.
“I think it is time to have a conversation about what the right to bear arms means in the modern world,” she told radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt. “I don’t understand why civilians need to have access to military weapons. We wouldn’t say you can go out and buy a tank.”
“But I believe that the rights that we have in the Constitution are indivisible,” she added. “We can’t throw away the Second Amendment and keep the First.”
I absolutely HATE the military weapons argument. Almost EVERY firearm action originated for military use, all the way back to flint lock and even the revered "Grandpa's" old lever gun. Any AR variant is as much a military firearm as a high end hunting Browning BAR. Machine guns existed when the 2A was written and so on.
Everyone focuses on the scary black guns, instead of the system that has failed society on multiple levels. No one is really owning up to their faults and redirecting blame.
The time, technology, and context of when that was written has changed. The country as we know it didn't exist when that was written- or, if you want to be real precise, the country was 11 years old. Blacks weren't technically human, women couldn't read or vote, and we were busy burning people alive for practicing magic. It was a weird time.
Before everyone gets their respective undergarments in a bunch, I think the right to bear arms is one of the fundamental principles of our way of life and I would never seek to remove it from the Constitution.
Never questioning a document written 200 years ago as if it applies unquestioningly to today's environment despite mounds of evidence to the contrary and calling that 'patriotism' isn't a great plan either. Maybe we can leave the 2nd just the way it's written, but enact legislature that applies restrictions more reasonably to today's society.
@Red Flag 1 's posts in this thread are some of the most informative things that I've read in a while. They really show why this forum is such a good resource for students like me, I'm always learning from members here.
So, no, we should not alter the 2nd in any way as it’s written, and I agree with the rest of your post as far as passing laws and undermining the core document.So we're changing the 2nd Amendment? If we're going to alter it through legislation, then do it the right way and change/ amend the Constitution. Passing all sorts of laws undermines the document.
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Using laws to alter the Constitution is a dangerous path .
So DC Vs Heller is the Law based upon Judicial review. That means a state cannot restrict my access to firearms. The Second Amendment is not a State's right that can be regulated at the State Level. When I see how concealed carry permits have been issued in CA for a very long time...better have donated to the Sheriff's campaign or actually not have a reason apparently. Then I take issue.So, no, we should not alter the 2nd in any way as it’s written, and I agree with the rest of your post as far as passing laws and undermining the core document.
The second anyone talks about actually examining the core document and -without undermining the intent of what the founders intended- enacting appropriate legislation because we are 2 centuries past the drafting, the usual response is something like “Nope! It’s already too regulated it should be less regulated don’t change a letter and we aren’t even talking about this, you’re not a good American/you don’t understand the constitution.”
I am firmly on the side of ‘don’t tell me what I can and can’t buy’. Now, when people start folding their tin foil hats, saying the government could become tyrannical and enslave the people so they need armor piercing rounds meant to defeat body armor that our police officers wear, silencers, bump stocks to make their weapons fully automatic, NVGs... there has to be some line where we can at least have the conversation. When you put yourself in the camp of ‘don’t restrict it at all, as a matter of fact, I want less restriction than we have neow’, you’re forced to accept certain 2nd and 3rd order effects.
I would certainly like to restrict the ability of terror cells to train and equip themselves better than the federal agencies meant to prevent them from doing so. I’m pretty sure the founders didn’t have the vision to foresee American citizens purchasing assault weapons legally with the intent to commit the mass murder of other Americans; but that’s the world we live in now.
Re: states rights (Cali and so on)- it’s sort of a weird argument to me when a state makes their own regulations, those regulations aren’t found to be unconstitutional, and people still say the government should make them change. I feel as if the argument is saying, “I want strip this state of it’s rights granted by the constitution, and I am going to use an article in the constitution to do so.’ That’s obviously an oversimplification, but it’s because I’m not a constitutional lawyer. Or smart.
Anyway, the conversation isn’t sacrosanct and the topic of the 2nd Amendment (the constitution as a whole) shouldn’t be regarded as some holy text that’s infallible and completely immune from examination. That’s all I’m saying.
No worries. Press.Things got a little sideways in this thread for me a couple days ago. Thanks for letting me back in.