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The Second Amendment can and will be debated for a long time, but it really doesn't apply for the original reasons. There are other more debatable justifications people have for wanting to own guns.
Many will say that it is to "preserve freedom," or whatever. I don't believe, however, that people truly buy guns for reasons that abstract though, unless they are cultists or survivalist nuts. Most people have simpler causes.
One is simply the feeling of power. If you have ever used a gun, you know what it is like. It is pretty cool to shoot stuff, or to think how you could destroy something or someone with a little finger motion. While this is a fascinating emotion, I don't think that it justifies the proliferation of efficient deadly weapons in a peaceful society.
A related and better reason people cite is that guns can be used for protection and prevention of crime by law-abiding citizens. This is still weak to me, though.
There are numerous non-lethal methods for stopping most criminals, unless they are armed. Such is the situation we have gotten into. Since criminals can easily access guns, law-abiding citizens should be able to also to protect themselves.
Gun advocates say that if they are restricted or outlawed, then only criminals will have them. This is true in the near term, but they fail to realize where criminals get their guns. They buy and steal from the law-abiding owners in the first place. If they were restricted or outlawed, the supply would dry up.
The last reason people own them is for sport. Again, it is fun to shoot stuff, like animals or targets. I don't mind that, although for some reason I think it should be customary to eat what you kill. But again, the fun does not justify the proliferation of lethal weapons.
We have them ingrained in our culture. The Second Amendment not so clearly guarantees our right to own them. So for now I propose a national registry. Like an automobile, people should have to apply for a license, prove their competence, and refrain from illegal use to keep the right to own a firearm.
Law-abiding citizens realistically don't have anything to fear from registering with the government. Sales should be regulated and registered also. Certain types of weapons, ammo and accessories that have no legitimate sport or personal defense purpose are and should be banned.
This would eventually soak up the pool of deadly weapons in the hands of criminals, at which point the law abiding citizenry could disarm. There are more than 100 million firearms in this country now. It is time for America to examine what it is going to do with so many guns.
Sanjai Tripathi is a columnist for The Daily Barometer. The opinions in his columns, which appear every Thursday, do not necessarily represent those of The Barometer staff. Tripathi can be reached at
[email protected].