Does the Second Amendment give me the right to own a nuclear weapon?

Question

If you accept the argument that the Second Amendment gives me an INDIVIDUAL RIGHT to BEAR ARMS (an argument that the courts have always found bogus, btw), then where do you draw the line?


http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2587

Answer 1

To use the 2nd amendment as a shield for gun control requires a total step back from reality.

To have a militia capable of fighting a national government, the individual would have to be allowed to have any weapon the national military has.

Which besides being economically unrealistic.. is certainly not something we want to see taking place.

Answer 2

Your individual right is based on self defense of family and property. There are natural and necessary limitations.

The law says that many weapons are banned from public ownership. That includes indescriminate weaponry - grenades, flame throwers, rockets, howitzers, tanks, bombs, MOABs, nukes, etc. - as well as high-rate weapons - machine pistols, machine guns, 20mm chain gun, 30mm Gatling cannon, etc.

This has been recognized and accepted by gun owners, and has been the law of the land since the 1930's (I think).

Oh, and the 2nd Amendment IS about INDIVIDUAL rights. Back then, the militia was composed of all the citizens. And in most state constitutions, the right is spelled out as a right to self-defense. The non-individual interpretation is NOT supported by the Supreme Court, and is not supported by the writings or intentions of the men who wrote the Constitution and Bill of Rights. It's not "accepting the argument", it is accepting the FACTS.

Go peddle your lies to a less-informed audience.

Answer 3

I think the 2 amendment is for citizens of the u.s. the military answers to themselves and really don't need or permission or an amendment to own weapons that can destroy the world. The fact is other countries without amendments own them also and it is just a matter of time before we destroy ourselves in a D*** swinging contest. all it is is a show of power that will end with millions of people dead. very childesh

Answer 4

Found bogus where? Your messing with the wrong dude when it comes to gun control. There are COUNTLESS cases where various courts have upheld an individuals right to bear arms! A nuclear weapon is not a gun. You not only have to read the CONSTITUTION, but read everything written by the founding fathers to understand what they meant, and what an ARM is.

I am tired of liberals tossing out facts and BTWs like there nothing.

Answer 5

If the threat of nuclear weapons is the only thing our government understands, then yes, it does. The purpose of the Amendment is to protect us from an insane, overbearing government. If all voting citizens actually believed that and OWNED a weapon, and were willing to use it, we would be much freer now than we are. Our government is PRESENTLY overbearing. The Founding Fathers INTENDED that we stop our gov't when it stops listening to The People.

Answer 6

NO. Because a nuclear weapon is not for self-defense, numb nuts. You can't carry a nuke and use it to protect yourself, because you are guaranteed to die in the blast along with whomever threatened you, and thousands of others.

But a pistol or a rifle can be controlled.

And remember, gun control means being able to hit your target.

BTW -- the courts HAVE NOT ruled that the Second Amendment is a collective right -- there is a preponderance of judical precedent that the Second Amendment is an Individual Right. But you'll never read about that on the websites you frequent.

Answer 7

The Constitution when, reasonably interpreted would allow you to own firearms for the protection of your home, and hunting or for sport such as skeet or target shooting. One generally is not allowed nuclear weapons nor AK47 type weapons. These are military weapons and not for civilian use. The second amendment does not allow you to have however many of whatever you please. Supreme Court interpretations have allowed for reasonable amounts of fire arms for the reasons I state above. So no you can't have a nuke.

Answer 8

The reason courts find that to be bogus is, once again, because the Constitution was not designed to grant rights to the American people. The forefathers thought (rightly so) that all rights people have are granted to them at birth by God. There was, therefore, no need for a document to grant such rights. The Constitution was designed to limit governmental authority over the people. Read it carefully - nowhere in the document is there a list of rights of the citizens of this country. The Constitution doesn't guarantee your rights; it only guarantees that your government is not empowered to take them away from you.

Answer 9

The Militia Act of 1887,
1.All citizens 16 to 60 are in the militia
2.You are required to report with arms and ammunition compatable to those in use by the regular forces.
The line was drawn in 1922,restrictions were put into place banning automatic weapons,grenades,bombs,rocket launchers and other heavy weapontry.

Answer 10

You can bear armes but you have to do so with legal ones. It is illegal to possess an automatic weapon for example unless you are in the military during active duty. So machine guns are out for civillians. I don't think that an ordinary citizen would be able to have the capabilities to store nuclear devices anyway so I wouldn't think it very plausible for just anybody to have nuclear weapons. I think that you have to have a license to even own Uranium in this country so the line would be drawn there probably.