Gun control does not have to infringe on the 2nd Amendment.

Due to recent shootings in Chicago and at the Navy yard, the topic of gun control again crashes to the headlines.  Gun control advocates, led by President Obama, have already come back out; soon to follow will be the gun owner advocates trying to refute them.  Let us start by looking at the first gun law which reads, “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.”  Assuming the individual right theory, it seems pretty plain the people of these United States shall not have their right to bear arms infringed.

Many laws have been floated attempting to restrict “assault weapons”, “automatic weapons” or magazine size.  Some have argued, an individual does not need a “military style rifle” to go hunting or that a shotgun is sufficient for home security.  To these, I point back to the Second Amendment; which makes no reference to recreational use or sufficient to protect yourself.  Regardless of your opinion of gun ownership, a Constitutional Amendment is required to enact laws such as these.  The Constitution was written to be amended, and it has happened 27 times.

Second Amendment advocates also extend this idea to complete background checks and registration.  With the exception of private to private transactions, how is a background check a bad thing?  To the gun sellers that bemoan the additional costs, then don’t sell guns.  Beyond that, it is a bit scary the local, state and federal repositories for criminal information are so incomplete and disjointed.  Regardless of gun laws, updating these systems has to happen.  As an analogy, when my son entered Kindergarten I had to agree to a background check to be allowed to be a chaperone.  And you know what, I did not have a problem with protecting my son and his classmates by having a review of all those that have access to them. How is this any different?  Extending even further, using this same idea and combining with some conspiracy theory, gun control opponents claim the Government would use the registration to confiscate all weapons. As a society, we register cars, homes and even our children; none of which have been confiscated by the Government.  With that, legally made weapons are already registered with the ATF; is it such a stretch to confirm to whom the weapon belongs?

As usual, the simple truth lies somewhere in between.  Without a Constitutional Amendment, laws limiting the type and power of a weapon will not, and should not, stand.  If two-thirds of Congress and three-fourths of the states agree these types of controls are necessary for the safety of US citizens, then get it done.  Short of that, proper background checks and registration are reasonable, common sense controls that do not infringe on a citizen’s right to possess a firearm.