Gun Control: the Real Issues
Uploaded by chasengland on Nov 25, 2000
“Misuse or theft prohibited by law”. This was the warning printed on a milk-carrying container at the local grocery store where I work. The use of the word “prohibited” intrigued me, so when I got home I looked it up in Reader’s Digest’s Great Encyclopedic Dictionary. I found two definitions: “1. To forbid, especially by authority or law; interdict.” and “2. To prevent or hinder.”. (1077) Now, which definition was being used in the warning? Was is possible to forbid misuse or theft by passing a law? Certainly it was. Was is possible to actually prevent misuse or theft by passing a law? Well, not totally. If somebody was a moral, upright, and law abiding citizen he would probably not misuse or take the container. In fact, such a person would probably not have misused or taken it in the first place. On the other hand, if the person in question did not have such a desirable world view, if he, in fact, did not care if it was right or wrong, or if he had malicious intent, then a law would not necessarily prevent him from misusing or taking the carton. He might be dissuaded if he knew he would get caught and would suffer consequences. If, however, he did not think that he would get caught, or he knew that he would not suffer any consequences, then why would he care?
On this thought I would like to turn your attention to the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America and the directly related and very relevant subject, that of gun control. I think that you will see a connection.
Let us begin with the question, “What does the amendment mean?”. It was concerning this question that award-winning author, president of SoftServ Publishing, and founder of the Committee to Enforce the Second Amendment, J. Neil Schulman contacted Roy Copperud. (Shulman 4) Roy Copperude is, among other things, a 30 year veteran newspaper writer, a 17 year veteran professor of journalism at USC, and author of the award-winning book American Usage and Style: The Consensus. (1) Schulman compiled several questions on the Second Amendment for Copperude. In one part of his written reply, Copperude said “The right to keep and bear arms is deemed unconditional by the entire sentence." (2) (The entire amendment is contained in one sentence: “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary for the security of...