Do you support the right to bear arms?

Question

I question this "right"/ The thesis goes that you need guns to protect your from others with guns. Sounds almost like an admission that the root problem is....guns....I would argue then that there should not be such a right. What do you think?

Answer 1

People base their rights on our Constitution! The problem is people tend to forget our founding fathers wrote this at time when America was a new frontier ..if they read the whole article it is clear it was about protecting the country from foreign invaders..
It has never been Amended to fit modern times...

Answer 2

An armed populace is the peoples last resort, and last safeguard against a corrupt and oppressive government. As long as we have the ability to rebel, those in power know that they have to take our interests into account.

Also, if guns are illegal, then only outlaws will have guns is a valid argument.

My friend puts it this way: "An armed society is a polite society". If you assume everyone is armed, you're going to be secure that everyone is on an even playing field, and not have to be suspicious and fearful that someone "might" be armed. I dunno, guns don't kill people, people with guns kill people. Guns aren't the cause of the problem, they just raise the stakes. Other countries such as Canada, which has a much higher gun per person ratio, has a much lower rate of gun violence. The ROOT problem is something within the people and the culture of the country with gun problems. Could be that we're over stressed, don't have proper conflict management skills taught to us as children, or perhaps it is the violent nature of our culture and media.
Society's problems cannot be blamed on the tools they are crafted with.

Answer 3

Yes, with limitations.

You are correct to presume that this right is an admission of a root problem. However, the root problem is not guns, it is the government.

The authors of the Constitution intended this right to ensure that the government cannot force its will on the people without their consent. In other words, the right was actually intended to give people the ability to challenge their military. The thinking here is that this would reduce the likelihood of a totalitarian state.

I am not personally advocating taking up arms against the goverment, but the possibility of that is, in fact, the primary reason for the Second Amendment. Nowadays, most people support this right for self-defense.

I support the right of people to own small arms for the purpose of their self-defense or sport. I do not support the unrestricted right to bear arms as the Second Amendment was originally written or intended. I don't think the founding fathers anticipated the destructiveness of modern weapons when they wrote this amendment.

There is a loose correlation between gun ownership and crime rates, but it is not simple. The UK bans guns and has a lower violent crime rate than the US, but people in Switzerland are armed to the teeth and have an even lower violent crime rate. There are cultural and historical reasons for crime rates in society, and the availability of guns does not generate crime.

If you outlawed all guns in the U.S., law-abiding citizens would be unarmed. Many criminals would find ways to acquire guns, though they would be more difficult to get than if guns were legal. So, there might be less violent crime, and there would certainly be fewer accidental gun deaths. However, there would also be less opportunity for citizens to defend themselves against criminals.

You also have to consider the effect on organized crime of outlawing guns. Criminals will still get them, and gangs and organized crime groups will supply them. The gangsters of the 20th century got their start when alcohol was outlawed, and modern-day gangs are supported by drugs. Making guns illegal will create another way for gangs and organized criminals to make money.

If I were writing the Constitution today, I would keep the Second Amendment but add restrictive language to ensure that this right is available only to law-abiding citizens and that this right is limited to arms sufficient only for their personal self-defense. We should not be allowing people to purchase machine guns or missiles, and we should not let anyone buy a gun without an extensive background check.

Answer 4

First to make your assertion correct and it may be, You would have to remove all guns from society. How are you going to do that? Do you really believe that a person about to commit a major crime is going to stop carrying a gun because of the couple extra years he would get? Also guns stop alot of violent crimes that are commited with other weapons, knives, clubs, even just pure physical force. Over 160,000 a year. A small or older man, a smaller female has a much better chance to protect themselves with a gun than without one. I am 51 yrs old. I do not want to try to stop someone half my age, that is probably stronger than me, with only my hands. I do not want to have a knife fight either. The odds of me winning are slim.
The original intent of the second ammendment is for the right of the private citizen to protect themselves from both criminals and the government forming a dictatorship! Read Hitlers
manifesto. The first thing he did was abolsih private ownership of guns so they could not form a resistance.
Second- look at the figures where the carry concealed laws have passed. The violent crime rate has dropped in every one of them. Now look at Washington D.C. and N.Y.C. The toughest gun laws in the world and the most violent crime including commited by guns. Look at Switerland, Most homes in that country have assault weapons in the house (all male there are in the reserves till age 45) No domestic crime. Want to stop crime stop the criminals

Answer 5

Whether or not you consider the Second Amendment to be ambiguous (Amendment II - 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.) the defacto armed population makes any talk of disarming Americans moot.

While I can see that there may be some confusion about the "well regulated militia" part, I will never give up my weapons to the government. I may be a liberal, but I intend to stay an armed liberal.

Answer 6

Yes I support the right to bear arms. I do think that guns like machine guns should be outlawed though. But handguns and long guns are fine with me.

Answer 7

Being a 45 year Member of the National Rifle Association, yes. I even support your right to lawfully possess a firearm.

I believe in the Right to Bear arms

Answer 8

It rather concerns no longer because fingers are u . s . of america because all of us has fingers and if we strive to disarm all of us the same human beings that had them will nevertheless have them and anarchy is the rule of thumb of the day, all of us feels some thing depraved this way comes, and being the most imaginative human beings on the earth intend to live to inform the tale even with. Now as for the fleecing of u . s . of america you may understand why the present president is speaking fairness if an time-honored joe hides a dime she or he receives lifestyles (exaggeration) yet aspect nevertheless stands IF BUSINESSMEN MAKE THE guidelines THEN THE guidelines ARE MADE FOR BUSINESSMEN. perchance a 0.33 of elected officials should be like the jury gadget. uncomplicated individuals prevalent human beings, paid triumphing salary will in place of work. In each and every committee each and every crew, each and every faze. lobbyists considered in effortless words in open forums, all verbal substitute recorded and videoed each person stuck discussing employer outside of dialogue board is booted, elected officials can't artwork for, act on behalf or search for suggestion from for a era of 5 years

Answer 9

i support the right.you could use a gun to protect yourself from someone trying to hit you with a baseball bat.it is more than people with guns that you need them to protect yourself.also what about people that enjoy target shooting and hunting?

Answer 10

yes, but the fact that some people use them for reasons not intended for protection or hunting is unfortunate.

....you better believe that I feel safer sleeping with a loaded 9mm next to my bed at night