It's much more sensible to define "arms" in terms of function than
mechanical design. After all "arms" meant swords and pikes and bows and
arrows too. Functionally, "arms" meant what a soldier carried...these
days an assault rifle. The purpose of the 2nd Amendment was as a
substitute for a standing army the government would be able to call up
men with arms to form a militia. Being very suspicious of centralized
power, the founders wanted to make sure the government could not forbid
private arms.
I think the best idea for gun control, suggested by a lawyer friend, is
to the treat them like cars. Require registration and liability
insurance. Let the insurance companies figure out who's a risk.
Brent
On 6/3/2021 7:08 AM, John Clark wrote:
Right wingers love talking about the "original intent'' of the
founders of the constitution, so what did they mean by the word
''arms"? Usually it's difficult to know what was going through
somebody else's mind, especially if they've been dead for 200 years,
but in this case it's easy; when they used the word "arms" they were
thinking of muzzle loading muskets and single shot flintlock pistols,
they most certainly were NOT thinking about AK-47s and Glock
automatics with 17 round magazines. So the Second Amendment says
anybody can buy a muzzle loading musket or a flintlock pistol, but if
you want something a little more powerful you're going to need a
license and to get a licence you're going to have to have a need for
such a devastating weapon and demonstrate some degree of competence
and responsibility in its use.
John K Clark See what's on my new list at Extropolis
<https://groups.google.com/g/extropolis>
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