MY safety from GUNS is MORE IMPORTANT than YOUR gun hobby

[starroute]

10. We hold these truths to be self-evident...

... that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights ...


I think if you look closely at the Bill of Rights, you'll find that some of the things enumerated there have to do with the rights and freedoms of the individual and others have to do with maintaining the integrity of the nation.

The text of the Second Amendment -- which 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" -- is pretty obviously the second kind. Once the first part ceases to be true -- and it has, long since -- the second part becomes inoperative.

It's much like the clause giving the government the right to issue copyrights and patents as a way to promote the arts and sciences. That doesn't mean that Walt Disney Co. has an innate right to hold onto Mickey Mouse forever. It says the government can grant a limited monopoly as long as it promotes the expansion of knowledge and culture in general.

In that way, gun "rights" are like copyright. They're a limited license the government can grant when it helps insure its own freedom from foreign tyranny. Period.