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LadyDemura -> RE: Las Vegas shooting unfolding now (10/3/2017 10:15:02 PM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: MercTech
quote:
ORIGINAL: LadyDemura
Why again are people allowed to own guns like this?
Or any guns at all?
This shooter was not in the military, if only the well regulated militia clause was enforced, this horrible shooting would not have occurred.
There are a few reasons.
1. An armed populace is a last resort against tyranny.
2. Police have no obligation to protect the individual unless a "special relationship" exists.
3. The U.S. is so huge that a police response can be hours away in case of trouble.
4. The Constitution of the U.S. was written by people that not only allowed citizens to keep arms but in that day even required it.
Assault rifles are not completely banned but required to be licensed and permitted. The background check for an automatic firearm is as extensive as one for getting a Secret clearance. And a $1200 fee for each and every transfer combined with a 4-10 month wait for permission to transfer makes Class III firearm ownership something only serious collectors do.
But, there is a black market for illegal firearms and you can get an illegal machine gun (according to my policeman neighbor) cheaper than you can legally get one.
In the big picture, U.S. Citizens who have not had rights curtailed by conviction of a Felony nor been adjudicated by a court as mentally unfit, have a right to keep and bear arms.
Note the "citizens", "conviction" and "adjudicated by a court". This is an issue of "due process" and certain states confiscating private arms based on someone swearing out a bond (accusation but no conviction of domestic abuse, etc.) is being tested in courts.
The type of arms a private citizen may keep have some limitations and you have to get specific permission and pay a tax for the permit to keep a "NFA Firearm". If it isn't a single shot weapon, auto-loading is fine, of the appropriate barrel length and configuration, it is an NFA firearm and requires specific permission and permitting. Furthermore, no permission or permitting will be forthcoming if there are state or local laws prohibiting the person applying from owning the firearm.
On the "bear" portion of the second amendment. There are local laws that specify, for the public safety, where the right to bear arms may be safely invoked. Schools, courts, government buildings are usual places where individual arms are forbidden. In my local jurisdiction, if a business posts a sign at the entrance saying "no firearms" or an ideograph to that effect (circle slash over a handgun is common) it is now a crime to carry a firearm on their premises.
I'm probably wasting my efforts illustrating how the U.S. is not the unregulated wild west that totalitarian touting media wants you to believe. But those in foreign countries, California, Chicago, and New York haven't been exposed to the reality of private firearm ownership that the bulk of the U.S. has been.
Not entirely, at this point, I'm a bit curious about the 2nd Amendment supporter mindset. Clearly, banning all guns would prevent at least some innocent people from dying, but I do think the framers of the Constitution did put a lot of thought into it, though I don't understand why the well regulated militia part of the 2nd Amendment is totally ignored by the right. It seems like his number of guns would have set off some red flags his CO might have had to address. Why does anyone need more than two? I can get needing a backup in case of jam or something, or even preferring a few different types, but this was not this guys situation. Someone that owns guns needs to have a CO, that can refer them to a psych hospital, if necessary, period. Why is it they don't allow me to drive without proper training, and licensing, insurance, and registration? I tend to think if cars had been invented in the 1700's, driving would have been a constitutional "right" instead of the "privilege" it is now, but most people want to restrict this to people that are responsible. Why is it that restricting gun ownership to those that are responsible is such more of an issue?
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