In Defense Of The Second Amendment.

What was I doing? I reluctantly handed the very tired and frustrated looking man an AK-47 with one full 30 round magazine. I am not going to lie I was a little nervous. I had just woke him from a deep sleep by kicking in his door and herding his family into a small room. I then commenced with, for the lack of a better word, ransacking his home. During the search of the home we had uncovered the assault rifle and one single shot shotgun. We confiscated the old shot gun and left the assault rifle.
 This story is true but it didn't take place here in the United States but in a village called Lutifyah about 30 miles south of Baghdad. This scene played out night after night as we searched countless homes throughout the Triangle of Death, as the area was affectionately called. In almost every home we found at least one AK-47 and one 30 round magazine. Unless we found a reason to arrest someone in the home we would leave them the weapon. My first thought was we were crazy for allowing the Iraqis to have weapons but then one night after a mission it came to me that I was watching one of the greatest examples of why the 2nd Amendment is so important. I was proud of our country for following through with the right to keep and bear arms even in Iraq.
 Most Americans have no idea what the 2nd Amendment really means. I have to be honest I didn't either for a long time until I read it. The 2nd Amendment doesn't explicitly say that you have the right to own a hunting weapon, a family heirloom or a firearm that you use for recreational shooting. I believe those are penumbras but they are not mentioned. What the Constitution specifically guarantees is that you can own a weapon for the sole purpose of being a part of a Militia. The militia was to be prepared to defend the country from foreign invaders and even our own government when they over reached. The 2nd Amendment 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. To understand what this means you have to look at the time frame the Constitution was written.
 Farmers, hunters, merchants and craftsmen had just defeated the worlds great super power of the time with their personal weapons. Most were not professional soldiers and had very little military training but I can assure you that most were proficient with a weapon. It is clear from the wording of the 2nd Amendment and the time frame it was written, that the founding fathers were thinking of the, "right to bear arms" in a military way.
  Over the last week high capacity magazines have come under fire. A high capacity magazine holds the ammunition for the firearm and it would be able to hold more shells then a traditional magazine. One TV personality asked, "who needs a 30 round magazine for hunting?" My answer to that is, nobody. A good hunter only needs one shot or occasionally two. There are very few recreational shooters that need a 30 round magazine. So why have them? The reason for high capacity magazines is for combat situations. On more then one occasion in Iraq I was glad that I didn't have to reload after 10 rounds. The reason I use 10 rounds as a reference is because that is the maximum capacity that a majority of weapons have when purchased today. The United States military realizes that 10 rounds is not enough for a firefight so they give you seven magazines that hold 30 rounds a piece. If you think I am being extreme go to YouTube and watch shootouts and see how quickly even 30 rounds can go. At this point you may be thinking here goes another gun nut telling us why he has the right to have a machine gun or as much ammo as he wants. Well lets look at the 2nd Amendment with some common sense and see why it is so important for politicians to leave it alone.
 Every night since the shooting in AZ you can watch a politician on TV talk about the new gun control measures they want to bring before Congress. Most of the measures are just political posturing. I mentioned in my previous post the legislation that would make it illegal to carry a gun with in 1,000 feet of a politician. Can a reasonable person really think that would have stopped the tragedy on Jan 8th? A criminal doesn't care about the laws he breaks, that's why he is a criminal.
 I know some will think I am a right-wing radical for what I am saying. I would disagree I believe I am a Constitutionalist. I believe what the Constitution says and stands for as it was written. However, I am not an unreasonable man and if I believed that outlawing high capacity magazines would save lives I would gladly give mine up. I can't say that all gun owners would be willing to do that but I would. The problem is I know it wouldn't change anything.
 Answer this question with honesty and common sense and you will see gun control measures and outlawing guns would not stop anything. Has the government ever been able to stop the illegal flow of anything into and throughout the country? The government could not stop alcohol during the prohibition, it cannot win the war on drugs and it cannot stop the flow of illegal aliens into this country. Are you comfortable giving up your right to bear arms and depending on the government to protect you from illegal weapons that criminals will no doubt have? I am not, nor will I ever be.
 As a supporter of the 2nd Amendment I realize that giving any ground in this debate is to much. Ask yourself this question. What other Constitutional Amendment would you feel comfortable having the government alter and change? What if they started chipping away at the First Amendment? Most Americans would say they would never let that happen. However, the 2nd Amendment is constantly under attack as they try to take a little bit of ground at a time. Their new game plan is clear. Use tragedy's to manipulate the situation and then convince gun owners they don't want your hunting rifle or your dads old shotgun. They just want your assault weapons and high capacity magazine. You know just the weapons actually covered by the Constitution.

Thanks For Reading
Steve

Ps. I never witnessed one violent attack with a weapon from a law abiding Iraqi citizen during my two deployments and virtually every home has an assault weapon and high capacity magazine