The 2nd Amendment

[fett]

Yeah. I never could figure out how that sentence can be interpreted as anything other than in the context of the times. The word "Militia" is the key word. The intent of this amendment was to be able to call up a citizen army if necessary and assure the states that the Federal Government would not get too strong militarily. It's all about State's Right vs The Feds. I think. As for the Supreme Court .........

[rjohnstone]

The Supreme Court has already ruled on your question as to what the 2nd Amendment means.
They interpreted it as meaning both "Militia" and "the people" not just one.

Whether guns are legal or not makes no difference in overall crime rate.
I have yet to read one report that says otherwise.
Certain types of gun related crime may drop, but other forms of violent crime make up for the lack of a firearm being present.

[Tashtego]

Check out South Africa, UK, and Australia for recent stats on the benefits of making private gun ownership illegal.

[Spivonious]

I read an article in the paper last week that a guy had successfully fought to not have to give his social security number to buy a handgun. So this got me thinking about the 2nd amendment.

Here it is:

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.

Now, to me this says that we (citizens of the U.S.) have the right to bear arms in well-regulated militias. Since the country was founded with the support of these militias, this makes sense.

Not being a hunter, I see no reason to own a gun. If I were a hunter, I'd see no reason to own a handgun. So why is there so much resistance about handgun regulations? It's a fact that keeping a gun in the home for self defense correlates to a higher risk of being shot. My opinion is that having a gun makes us feel more powerful and therefore makes us a bit more confident in our actions. This leads to us being in situations where we normally wouldn't be.

Since this board has many international members, I'm curious what the gun laws in your countries are and your thoughts on the U.S.'s gun policies. Does making guns illegal actually make a difference in crime? Do people still rob banks if all they have is a knife? Are police viewed as less-powerful if they don't have guns? When was the last time you heard about someone being shot in your country?

I'd like to keep this thread civil, if possible. I know that strong opinions exist on this subject.