Reviewing the Second Amendment

Of all the amendments to the Constitution, the one that is the most often misquoted is the Second Amendment. It clearly 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.

Infuriatingly, this amendment is almost exclusively quoted beginning from the word "the" after the second comma, leaving out the prerequisite reference to a well-regulated militia. One slight understandable problem is the use of the two commas. However, other than the commas, this is indisputably one sentence. The Founding Fathers were protecting the individual citizen's right to own/carry/utilize a firearm, but only those who were members of a militia, not the right of the individual citizen to own a firearm independently of a militia. The latter is much too general and carries too great a risk of accident and death. The former is much more specific and safe, particularly considering the danger posed by guns.

A larger point, in my view, is that this amendment itself needs to be amended. It is outdated and needs to reflect the fact that we no longer have militias comprised of the general citizenry, and that if a citizen desires to own a gun, that they must comply with and follow some basic safety regulations (yes imposed at the federal level). It may be a right but not without restrictions. As it is now, too often this amendment is interpreted to mean that the general public has the right to own a gun with little-to-no restrictions or regulation. In other words, just like laws in place to better insure safe driving, gun use by the general public needs to have laws in place that protect the safety of the general public.

This leads me to the NRA. I think for a president who has proven that he and his administration can handle more than one difficult issue at a time (multi-tasking), to avoid standing up to the NRA with the reinstatement of both the Brady Bill and the Assault Weapons Ban is simply allowing the NRA to intimidate the federal government. Gun violence has been a problem in the United States for a very long time, and President Clinton at least had the courage to tackle the problem head-on and with legislation. True, some members of the House and Senate lost their seats in 1994 due to their support of these very measures, but Bill Clinton did the right thing. If President Obama needs to wait a little longer before reintroducing this issue, I just encourage him to make sure he's smart about how long he waits and not to ignore the issue entirely. Prudence is one thing, but being reluctant to confront the NRA or being too afraid to tackle an extremely contentious issue is highly imprudent, unassertive, and irresponsible. This president got my vote in part by how assertive he is. If there was ever an issue that needed more assertiveness and action by our government, it is protecting our citizens against the senseless accidents and deaths caused every day by guns.