THE POSITION OF BOB RIES ON THE SECOND AMENDMENT
The Second Amendment to the Constitution 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.
The only reason there is any argument on this Amendment is because it is another example of people wishing the Constitution were written according to their preference, rather than the way it was written, according to the wishes of our Founding Fathers.
Opponents to people owning their own guns hang their hats on the word militia, but “militia” is not the main idea of the sentence. It appears in a qualifying phrase of the sentence, while the main idea of the sentence is that the people have the right to keep and bear arms.
Our Founders wrote the Constitution based upon situations of their lives at the time, and at the time our Country was founded an organized militia was part of their lives. For whatever reason, they clearly intended for people to own their own guns. Even though a militia, as they understood the militia, may not be necessary today, if we want to change their intent and wording, then we must amend the Constitution. Otherwise the wording, and intent of the wording, is clear.
Honest law abiding citizens owning gun for sport or self defense are not a problem, and pose no threat of harm to any other law abiding citizen. The problem with guns becoming a threat to do harm only occurs when an individual uses a gun for unlawful means. That is where we need to concentrate our efforts.
I suggest we punish criminals using guns very harshly, because they should be removed from society. If someone uses a gun in the commission of a crime, the penalty should be a five-year prison term with no parole, or time off for good behavior. If they fire the weapon during the commission of a crime, the sentence should be ten years. If someone is wounded during the commission of a crime, the sentence should be fifteen years. If the wounded individual is a law enforcement officer, the sentence should be twenty years.
Any judge that does not follow the penalties established by this law should be treated as any other lawbreaker, with appropriate penalties. I would suggest a minimum of removal from office, with possible jail time.
