Re: 2nd Amendment perspectives

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Shmuel, First of all you don't understand what freedom is.
The bill of rights protects the individual from the majority
& it protects the states from the federal government. Your
equaling a "right" with a "choice". If people want to be a
doctor then that is what they have chosen to do. If somebody
wants to be a pilot then that is their choice. Now, a right
is something that we can all exercise even if somebody else
doesn't want us to do. It is up to the individual to protect
themselves. Also,in America, all the people are part of the
reserve military force. If you have time you should read
some what our Supreme Court has even said about the first two
amendments to our Constitution. They stated that the rights
listed are not GRANTED by the constitution. This means that
even if you REPEAL the second amendment Congress and the
states still don't have the Power to disarm or License or
Register Guns or People. You also have a problem with 44
state constitutions. They all list a "right" to keep and
bear arms. The founders knew it would be a problem to change
the constitution and it will only take 3% of the population
to vote against a change. In other words it ain't going to
happen. When a right is held to "Fundamental" it is outside
the powers of Society to control it. Guns are our
fundamental right in America. Perhaps you can do somemore
research into this and understand what freedom really is.

On 10/31/02, Shmuel Goldstein wrote:
> My thesis: Repeal the 2nd Amendment.
>
> I live in Israel. The so-called West Bank, to be precise.
Here in Israel, we
> do not have a 2nd Amendment, and no one here has a "right"
to bear arms.
>
> There are basically three ways in which your average
Israeli citizen can/does
> use arms: 1) He can acquire a license, then buy the weapon,
2) Work for the
> Police or other security agency, 3) Do reserve duty
>
> Now, just about every man does reserve duty, and typically
the weapon used is
> an Uzi, M-16, or perhaps a Galil, which handles like an AK-
47, and uses M-16
> size bullets.
>
> In addition, reservists and regular army soldiers are all
over the country, and
> it is de riguer to see a 19 y/o soldier get on a bus with
an M-16 strapped
> around his shoulder. No one thinks anything of it. In fact,
there have been
> several incidents where one of these guys was near a
suicide bomber and stopped
> him by shooting him.
>
> In order for a regular citizen to acquire a weapon, say, a
pistol, he must
> undergo security checks, medical checks, and police checks.
It is not a given
> that he will receive a license for the weapon. Basically,
if he was an IDF
> officer, a cop, or if he lives in a dangerous area (the
gov't decides what is
> dangerous, and they make logical decisions, believe me), he
can get the
> license. Then he's got to go to an approved dealer to buy
the gun. Then he must
> do monthly target practice or risk having his license
revoked, and the weapon,
> which could cost hundreds of dollars, confiscated.
>
> I remind you, that this is ISRAEL, which is undergoing a
cruel war of attrition
> right now.
>
> Gunshot and violent crimes here are much more rare then
they are in the US.
> Part of the reason is that a weapon is hard to get. Part of
the reason, indeed,
> is cultural.
>
> Before the OSLO accords, signed in 1993, Palestinian
violence was primarily
> rocks being thrown, and the occasional bigger attack. Since
the accords were
> signed, and more to the point, since the Palestinian police
were given weapons
> by the Israelis, my children must go to school in BULLET-
PROOF buses. The
> Palestinians use the weapons freely against us, and even
use them at weddings -
> firing in the air in "celebration".
>
> An Israeli is VERY careful with the weapon he either has
bought, or was issued
> for his reserve duty. He must fill out a report and undergo
sometimes grueling
> interrogations by the Police (or the MP's) if he fires the
weapon.
>
> Many people where I live walk around with pistols in their
belts, and/or the
> Uzi or M-16. These are simple civilian residents of a
Jewish village in
> Samaria (aka West Bank). These people have the weapons
legally. In fact, the
> attack just a few days ago in Harmesh was stopped by people
with such weapons.
>
> Israel can be considered the valhalla for those who love
guns.
>
> BUT
>
> There is no 2nd Amendment, and there is no "right" to bear
arms.
>
> In the US, there is no "right" to drive, yet millions do.
> There is no "right" to be a doctor, yet there are many.
> There is no "right" to fly, yet there are many pilots.
> There is no "right" to be a pharmacist and sell potentially
deadly drugs, yet
> many are pharmacists.
> There is no "right" to be a prostitute, and in fact, it is
illegal in most
> places, EXCEPT certain areas of Nevada.
>
> In short, if the 2nd Amendment is repealed, each State and
locality can then
> set the weapons-use issue according to the customs and
mores of its own
> people. Even if there is no "right" to bear arms, this does
not mean that guns
> will be taken away from people. It only means that they
could (but not
> necessarily will) be monitored much more closely, which I
think will only help
> to reduce violent crime.
>
> Just my thoughts,
>
> Shmuel
>

Re: 2nd Amendment perspectives, 2/10/05, by Shmuel Goldstein.

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