Northern Illinois University Shooting and the NRA
Sunday, February 17th, 2008Last night I heard a discussion on WBZ about gun violence. The discussion was sparked by the recent college violence on the Northern Illinois University campus. There was a proponent to regulate gun violence as well as the host Dan Rae. While the conversation was more or less balanced, I am shocked at some of the callers.
The conversation focused around how the NRA goes to extreme lengths to defeat any and all regulation pertaining to guns in America. They claim that the right to bear arms is protected by the Second Amendment and that citizens need to have guns to defend themselves against a rogue government. As the guest pointed out, good luck defending against nuclear weapons, M1 Abrams, and an unbelievable arsenal of automatic and assault rifles in the possession of the US government. This argument is illogical and frankly ridiculous.
The Second Amendment should not be interpreted absolutely. It states “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 key phrase here is “well regulated militia” i.e. the National Guard. Individuals who do not belong to a well regulated militia must not have the right to bear arms. Just like I can’t drive a tank down the street or take a F22 for a spin, a regular citizen should not have the right to carry or own weapons.
I turned off the discussion with a profound sense of outrage directed at the NRA and an even firmer believer that these people would have no problem supplying various organizations around the world regardless of their intent. Guns should not define the freedoms protected by the constitution. And college campuses should not turn into kill zones because we cannot define our gun laws.
