Colorado passes Gun Control Laws

[Lemur]

The idea that the 2nd amendment was ever viewed by anyone as a purely collective right exists in the mind of a leftist fantasy. It's a reading that could have been the case at the nations founding, with difficulty from English common law, but not since then.

So by suggesting an alternate legitimate reading of 2A, I'm indulging in "leftist fantasy"? Seems more like I stepped on the toe of a sacred cow, and you're indulging in some internet rage.

Oh look, I poked the sacred 2A cow. I MUST BE A MARXIST LEFTIST SOCIALIST HIPPIE!

Read the damn sentence without the NRA looking over your shoulder. Read the actual effing words. There's more than one way to read the intent. That's not leftis, rightist, communist, Keynesian, Muslim, or anarchist. It's common sense.

Sorry I poked your cow.

-edit-

Loving v. Virginia, no amendment needed, reinterpretation.

Lawrence v. Texas, no amendment needed, reinterpretation.

-edit of the edit-

Can you outline your understanding of what the right means and why it is still relevant? It's a cop-out to just say "2A can stay, guns are ok". You have to have a deeper understanding of it and believe that rights should not be withdrawn as easily as some would suggest.

Sure, happy to do so. First of all, it's in the effing Constitution, and we, as a society, have chosen to interpret it to mean an individual's right to bear arms. I'm cool with that.

Secondly, guns have played a huge cultural and practical role in the USA since before our founding as a nation. I am a conservative (using the word in the classical, not modern sense) in that I don't like to see big changes to things that have been around a long time (unless someone can demonstrate a compelling rationale for such a change, and an ironclad plan for the aftermath of a change). I'm much more Burke than Rousseau. Very gradual change we can believe in.

You'll note that I didn't give a damn about the assault weapons ban or the magazine capacity ban. Bad ideas. What lit me off was the defeat of the background checks.

All of our rights have boundaries. My First Amendment right to religion, for example, does not allow me to engage in human sacrifice to Cthulhu. My right of assembly does not mean I can have a party in the middle of the street. My right to free speech does not mean I can make verbal or written threats to another citizen without repercussions. And so on and so forth; our rights are not and never have been absolutes.

So yeah, when I see common-sense measures to control the flow of guns to criminals and the insane beaten down by fanatics, I get mad. What makes me extra-special crazy is that in the long run, such limitations will be good for gun rights. By way of comparison, if there were driving absolutists who insisted that there must be no stop signs and no crosswalks, they would make cars less popular in the long run. I would be irritated by those people. Not because I hate cars, but because I like cars and I like driving.

Does that serve to answer?