I found last week’s editorial submitted by Stan Chraminski enlightening and thought provoking.
I found last week’s editorial submitted by Stan Chraminski enlightening and thought provoking.
Very few actually read the Second Amendment to our Constitution written by James Madison 220 years ago: “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.”
Mr. Chramiski says, “Today’s militia are the police and military.”
I agree. This “collective rights approach” was the law from 1939 till 2008, a period of almost 70 years. Our Supreme Court in 1939 United States v. Miller rendered their opinion that the Second Amendment’s intention was to ensure the effectiveness of the military. The U.S. Supreme Court revisited this issue in 2008, District of Columbia v. Heller. In a 5-4 decision, the court struck down the handgun ban in Washington, D.C. and established the individual right of U.S. citizens to possess firearms.
This “individual rights approach” is now the law. The present make-up of our conservative Supreme Court is influenced by the National Rifle Association. All Republican and most Democrat politicians are on the NRA payroll, which has led to a legislative shutdown of our Republican majority Congress; who’s strategy seems to be opposition to anything and everything President Obama suggests and obstructing Obama’s moderate appointment to replace Antonin Scalia on the court. Even questioning the present individual rights approach is tantamount to treason.
The Supreme Court historically does not rule on our sacred Constitution and the first 10 Amendments (collectively called the Bill of Rights). It is our individual states that regularly adopt their own gun control measures — or lack of. Today, several states even have open carry laws.
In the recent Dallas ambush of five white policemen, it was originally thought that multiple gunmen were “triangulating” the pinned-down police monitoring a peaceful demonstration. The confusion was because there were more people in the Dallas demonstration march with assault rifles strapped over their shoulders than demonstrators with backpacks. Crazy.
Unless we adopt enlightened gun control similar to Japan, England and Australia, I feel our free society can very well turn into a civil war, quickly. The NRA view that the solution to our problem is more guns for the good guys is insanity. My hope is that we are able to open up dialogue exploring the collective and individual rights approaches to our present life-threatening dilemma. I say ban all guns but hunting rifles for qualified game hunters. The only use for handguns and assault weapons is to kill people. Daunting task considering that we have more guns in our society than people.
Ron Roberts is a resident of Kapaau