Second Ammendment
I’m not entirely sure what we will be blogging about here, but I ran across this story, and I wanted to share my opinions.
An 85-year-old woman boldly went for her gun and busted a would-be burglar inside her home, then forced him to call police while she kept him in her sights, police said.
“I just walked right on past him to the bedroom and got my gun,” Leda Smith said.
Smith heard someone break into her home Monday afternoon and grabbed the .22-caliber revolver she had been keeping by her bed since a neighbor’s home was burglarized a few weeks ago.
“I said ‘What are you doing in my house?’ He just kept saying he didn’t do it,” Smith said.
After the 17-year-old boy called 911, Smith kept holding the gun on him until state police arrived at her home in Springhill Township, about 45 miles south of Pittsburgh.
The boy will be charged with attempted burglary and related offenses in juvenile court, Trooper Christian Lieberum said. He was not identified because of his age.
“It was exciting,” Smith said. “I just hope I broke up the (burglary) ring because they have been hitting a lot of places around here.”
I am a HUGE supporter of the Second Amendment. I know many people feel that the wording of the Second Ammendment, does not guarentee an individual the right to carry a weapon. I believe Thomas Jefferson said it best, citing ‘On Crimes and Punishment’ by criminologist Cesare Beccaria, when he said “Laws that forbid the carrying of arms…disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes…such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.”
I find it curious that so many countries want to prohibit an individuals right to keep and carry a weapon. In Switzerland, Every male goes through basic training at the age of 20, and then is required by law to keep a government issued weapon at his home until his military reserve status is changed at 30. Switzerland has by far the greatest percentage of guns per capita, very nearly no gun crimes as a result.
I’ll leave you with one question. Would you want to rob a house or person, if you knew they had been trained in the use of, and were required by law to own a weapon?
Popularity: 2% [?]
I do believe I agree with you here Ryan – for the most part.
The Second Ammendment, at its core, is perfectly just: people should have the right to carry arms so as to protect themselves from would-be assailants (maybe it says more, maybe it says less, this is just what I think).
The problem arises when people take this to mean that because they *can* have a gun, they *should* go and get a gun simply to have a gun. Sure, the whole waiting period thing is all well and good, but, knowing that it is reasonably easy for anyone to get a gun, training or no training, is rather unsettling.
What Switzerland is doing is certainly progressive, and makes sense, though I’m not sure if it’s the end-all-be-all answer the United States might be looking for.
I by no means claim to be an expert on anything gun related (rights, control, or laws); I don’t own a gun, nor do I ever anticipate doing so. In fact, the Second Ammendment isn’t something I necessarily regard as being important to me, but, that does not mean I wouldn’t like the government to look to other countries and how they handle firearms for some possible inspiration.
This discussion is getting too smartys. I’m not sure about this “Second Ammendment” thing. I don’t trust it as far as I can eat it. Not really sure what that means either.
Seriously, I’m not sure it will affect my life in any way. I mean, I do own a gun. I don’t shoot it on any sort of regular basis (in fact, I have never shot it). It’s more of an heirloom thing. If the world ever gets to a point where I need to start shooting it on a regular basis, the last thing on my mind will be the Second Ammendment. I will, more likely, be wondering whether regular or armor piercing bullets would do more damage to a zombie’s skull.