Miscellaneous

Gun Control, the Pink Pistols, and the Supremes

By Denise

I just came across this WaPo story about a case currently in front of the US Supreme Court.  For the first time in over 70 years the Supremes will decide a case grounded in the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution.

"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."

It seems like every day we're hearing another story about someone killing a group of people -- often relatives or schoolmates -- with a gun.  We truly have an epidemic of violence, gun violence, in this country.  There are people out there who sincerely believe that the way to curb this violence and to protect themselves and their families is to put more guns in the hands of our citizens.

I am not among them.  My limited understanding of the English language and my limited understanding of Constitutional interpretation lead me to believe that the beginning clause, "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State," was put there for a reason.  The second clause, "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed" cannot stand alone.  But, I admit that the amendment is ambiguous.  After all who are these "people" whose right to bear arms cannot be infringed upon (possibly members of the well-regulated militia)?

When this debate was a hot topic 40 years ago, the bumper-sticker slogan of the gun nuts was "Guns don't kill, people do".  Yikes.  That kind of thinking scares me.  Guns have the ability to turn a temporary passion into a permanent condition and regret.  If I'd have had a gun in the house at the time, I never would have confronted the fact that I hate knives and I wouldn't be here now to appreciate the beauty that life has to offer.

The Pink Pistols do not speak for me.

With the Supreme Court examining for the first time in 70 years the right to bear arms guaranteed by the Second Amendment, a group of gay and transgender gun owners called the Pink Pistols could not miss out on a chance to tell the justices about its special needs. ...

The Pink Pistols brief, for instance, said that Heller's argument that he has a right to own a gun for self-defense is especially relevant for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgendered people.

"Even in their homes, LGBT individuals are at risk of murder, aggravated assault and other forms of hate violence because of their sexual orientation," the brief states. "In fact, the home is the most common site of anti-gay violence."

Full post as published by Life, Law, Gender on March 09, 2008 (boomark / email).