Gun law, American-style.........

Americans are prisoners of the second amendment to the Constitution. The intention of our forefathers remains clear and it is decidedly not to arm the public. At the time of framing the Constitution, each colony maintained its own militia however ragtag and undisciplined. There being no federal army, the states were not only granted, but encouraged to sustain their militias as a first line of defense. Please note the emphasis on 'militia'.

The amendment has been spun by the political right into an unalienable right to not only bear arms but to keep an arsenal of automatic hand guns and rifles along with as much ammunition as one wants to stockpile. The National Rifle Association is a sacred cow that is inviolable as demonstrated by a multitude of unsuccessful but highly aggressive efforts to disenfranchise it, or at least dramatically curtail its powers.

Many, like myself, are content to allow our citizens the right to a hunting weapon or enjoy sport shooting at a gun club. I steadfastly believe, however, that any weapon for any other purpose is a danger to individuals and society and should be outlawed. This includes weapons for self defense.

Unfortunately, this viewpoint is itself unrealistic because so many Americans are so well armed, and so intent on acquiring more weapons and ammunition that it would be virtually impossible to disarm them. In short, we could not disarm America if we tried.

Federal approval is required to purchase a weapon. This takes about 15 minutes for a person without a criminal record and can be accomplished while waiting in front of the weapons counter at Wal Mart or any other store dealing in guns. There is no limit to the number of weapons one owns. Gun fairs and shows buy and sell weapons indiscriminately and often without reference to federal approval.

Guns are constantly bought and sold privately and through newspaper want ads and are likewise traded without reference to federal screening. Guns are frequently exchanged, traded, stolen and gifted especially by criminal elements such as the Mafia, militia groups and street gangs.

I recently visited a gun store to buy a 22 caliber replica version of a Henry or Winchester lever action rifle. I was astounded to see on display a vast array of automatic weapons including machine pistols, M16 rifles, AK47s and even a light machine gun with a tripod mount, scope, night sight and laser sight. These are not big game hunting weapons. Nor are they weapons for self defense. They are assault weapons which are being purchased throughout the US in anticipation of the day when citizens will be called upon to aggressively defend themselves against invasion.

To the casual non-American observer, it may seem unlikely that an enemy force would, or even could, penetrate our military defenses and take hostile action against common urban, suburban and rural dwellers in this vast country of ours. And such observers would be correct. You see, it is not a foreign enemy that so many of our citizens fear, but rather our very own government. In addition, we fear scenarios in which our government fails to curtail criminal and anti-social elements who, given a natural disaster or food crisis for example, might take it upon themselves to 'take over' and to subdue any resistance through brute force during efforts to steal food, fuel or money.

Hollywood has produced numerous films using this and similar scenarios and it is incredible how popular and seriously taken these films are. Young and old alike lie awake at night conjuring up situations in which they heroically defend their community, or country, with little else but a stealthy demeanor and plenty of automatic weaponry.

Every time we have an incident in which a public figure is shot, laws are proposed to curtail the sale and spread of guns. The guts of such laws that have passed into legislation have been removed to the point where their intent has been negated. The image of Charlton Heston, a former Chairman of the NRA, holding a rifle aloft from his podium at an NRA convention and saying "come and take it" remains fixed in our minds. Through popular efforts such as Heston's, anti gun advocates have been effectively emasculated in their endeavors to bring sanity and reason to the issue of bearing arms.