Monday, June 28, 2010

Hiding out

From Kitty Loco Designs
The news today scares me, again. So I'm going to spend the next few days hiding out, not going into any places where somebody might be out with a gun. Like Starbucks. Or a department store.

You might have heard about the Supreme Court ruling that was passed today, making sure than gun owners will not be hindered in their right to bear arms. Of course, this means everybody, anywhere, for any reason has this right. Right? I certainly hope not. But the way the gun control opponents are celebrating this ruling does not make me feel any safer.

I just finished reading the whole page on Wikipedia about the Second Amendment, trying to figure out how we got here, and it's fascinating to me how much of a difference in interpretation you can get by simply changing punctuation within a sentence. Take this one, for example. On September 4, 1789, the Senate voted to change the language of the Second Amendment by removing the definition of militia, and striking the conscientious objector clause:
A well regulated militia, being the best security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
A few days later, the Senate then slightly modified the language and voted to return the Bill of Rights to the House. The final version passed by the Senate was:
A well regulated militia being the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
No wonder there is so much controversy now about what the Second Amendment actually means. But for now, I'm just going to hide away until it feels safe to venture out of my home. There is some really good reading in both of those links, the first from Yahoo News about today's decision and the other from Wikipedia. I've spent quite a bit of time this morning wondering about the wisdom of this 5-4 Supreme Court ruling.
:-{

13 comments:

  1. Terrible ruling! My brother collected, knives, daggers, guns and rifles throughout his life. One day he went too far and threatened to kill his boss with his gun. Although his boss was not in his office at the time, my brother was arrested for terroristic threatening and was in prison for 10 years.

    I have never owned any guns or rifles and have not even touched one, much less used one. If only everyone could be like me!

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  2. I was about to say that nothing surprises me anymore. Thankfully, that's not quite true. It's nasty news, though.

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  3. Oh geez, are we going to all live in fox holes?

    This decision disgusts me. It's an indication our country is going backward, not forward.

    I'm from Texas. I don't mind guns in the hands of ranchers or hunters. I strongly oppose the kind of weapons on the streets of our cities. Those weapons are far more powerful than a rancher or hunter use.

    The is also very bad new for law enforcement in this country.

    A very sad day.

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  4. Terrible news. It is like we are going back to the Wild West with everyone carrying a gun. Just wait - some senator or bigwig will get shot and there will be an uproar over it. Everyone will demand a change then. Too bad tragedies have to happen, but sometimes that is what is needed to bring the powers-that-be back to their senses.

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  5. One wonders to what extent lobby groups such as the NRA can play a role in this decision. In Canada there are major restrictions in owning a firearm.

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  6. I hide out at home anyway!
    I HATE GUNS!!!

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  7. Carrying of ammunitions and the likes here in the country is very prohibited by the law, but still there are still nonesense killings that happens everywhere. Like you, I don't feel safe, even in some places in the countryside where private armies of politicians are out there to watch you while touring around the place. I wish people would calm down and talk misunderstading in a nice way and let peace prevail. God bless us all.

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  8. Weapons are a business. This court, at least five of them, are concerned with protecting capitalism at all cost. And the second amendment clearly is talking about militia, well regulated militia at that. In the modern era we call that the National Guard. Other militia groups are hardly well regulated. As I understand it, this ruling is legislating from the bench, taking the interpretation of the 2nd amendment farther than it has ever gone in allowing everyone to carry a gun.

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  9. Hadn't heard about that, but scary indeed! Is one of the things I real don't get and scares me about the US... Here in Spain it is very difficult to get a weapons permit... among the papers you have to submit I believe there's a psych evaluation.

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  10. Scary stuff. I'd go hide but I think I'm safe in my studio. Although all the Squirrels outside look like they could ban together and start something.

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  11. It can't be right that anyone can own (and use) a gun, can it? The world just got an even more dangerous place.

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  12. It is a right under our constitution..just as we have a right to free speech..or where to worship or the right to vote.
    If you take away all the guns, only the really bad people will have them..the scum of the earth will be armed and mighty dangerous.
    I believe the whole problem is in our court system with Judges who do not follow mandatory sentencing. I am for public hangings, short and sweet and to the point:)
    Thanks for the input of the Peony photo..it was not special until I cropped it..there was a wheelbarrow in the background! I entered a Lady Slipper this time around! :)

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  13. I can shoot a rifle and shotgun with reasonable accuracy but only at controlled targets. My dad taught me to shoot when I was in my teens, he also made sure I had a healthy respect for firearms. Do I want everyone to own a gun? No way.

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