Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Response to Constitution Question

Olivia asked: Do you think when the founding fathers said that people have the right to bear arms they could have begun to imagine how powerful and accurate guns in the future might be, should people only be allowed to have certain guns and a certain number? 


I think that this amendment was put in place at a time when society was totally different. The average citizen did not really own weapons at this time; guns were used primarily to fight the wars. Unlike today, death by firearms were virtually nonexistent. The founding fathers most likely wrote this amendment to pertain to the militias, rather than the average citizen. 
It's hard to say who is allowed to have guns and for what purpose. Hunting guns are used for hunting, yes, but they are still dangerous. There is such a fragile, thin line here. I definitely do not want guns in the hands of the wrong types of people, but who is to say only officials can own guns and not citizens? I am sure many people have guns for the sole purpose of emergency protection, which makes it difficult to decide who should be allowed to own weapons. 

1 comment:

  1. You expressed the various concerns surrounding this issue well.

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