this post was submitted on 27 Oct 2023
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Maine is a state where almost half the households have guns. I don't think opponents of the second amendment are going to find a lot of support there even after yesterday's mass shooting.
People advocating for gun control arent opponents of the 2nd amendment....
Like most things fox news has turned the entire debate into an us vs them thing. Gun control is surprisingly something that most Republicans and Democrats agree on.
People advocating for gun control aren't necessarily opponents of the 2nd amendment, but people talking about well-regulated militias usually are. What's the point of bringing up that strange phrase unless you don't think that the 2nd amendment's right to bear arms applies to everyone regardless of membership in some sort of militia?
Well, the way it's written and how some people frame the argument, yeah they should have to be in a militia.
2nd amendment doesn't talk about private ownership of weapons.
That's not an unreasonable reading of the text, but if you're going to look at the Constitution that way, you'll see that it doesn't talk about abortion or gay marriage either. I'm in favor of abortion rights and gay marriage, and that's why I don't start "but the Constitution doesn't literally say..." arguments with conservatives.
Actually the way that it is written, "the militia" is the reason that "the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."
Put it another way:
A well balanced breakfast, being necessary to the start of a healthy day, the right of the people to keep and eat food shall not be infringed.
From this it is clear, "a well balanced breakfast" doesn't have the right to "keep and eat food," "the people" do, because "breakfast is important."
Isn't that a national poll, as opposed to a poll of Maine residents? I'm talking specifically about Maine, not about the USA as a whole.
Generally people who quibble about the term "well-regulated militia" do specifically oppose the second amendment. But the constitution of Maine doesn't have that ambiguity:
I might be wrong, but isn't everything on there already a requirement? I think the mental health check is the only thing that isn't (unless you consider losing your right to own a gun after being involuntarily committed for any reason to be a mental health check). The problem is that even our existing gun control laws aren't being properly enforced (otherwise that wouldn't be part of the poll). I think there needs to be more gun control. I'm just not sure that more gun control is going to work because the government won't enforce what's already there.
I personally think a licensing system similar to what we have for cars would help a lot. Want a double-barrel shotgun? The current system would probably work for that. Want an AR-15? You need the enthusiast license which involves a week or two of training, a basic mental health evaluation, and a gun safe (not a flimsy lockbox) to store it in. Want a .50 cal, belt-fed browning machine gun? You gotta get the super ultra deluxe license that requires a year of training and mental health checks, background checks complete with colonoscopies from the FBI and ATF, and you still need a gun safe to store it in. Finally, if your gun is used in a crime then you're considered to be an accomplice. Your only defense is if you can prove it was properly stored and you reported it as stolen within a reasonable amount of time.
Edit: I got it guys, I'm wrong about existing gun control. I'm leaving the post up because there may be others who are also confused about it.
Not quite, most states don't have a waiting period either because they haven't been shown to be effective at curbing crime. In fact avg "time to crime" of a gun is 11yrs according to the ATF, 11yr is quite the waiting period.
Damn, that's a hell of a waiting period.
You're not wrong those are all required by law except the mental health checks, but even then you are prohibited if you've had an involuntary stay in a mental institution.
But those people aren't interested in facts, only biased groupthink just look at how they show their thoughts with their downvotes because they have nothing intelligent to say.