Guns & the "March For Our Lives"

            The "March For Our Lives" takes place today.  I am glad to see the next generation of voters standing up for themselves and their own safety, and for putting the politicians and special interests on notice that they won't be the impotent, brainwashed  sheep that today's voters seem to be.  Let's hope that they mature into better thinking, less gullible, and better voters than what we have now.

            The misuse of guns and the failure of our politicians to provide for the safety of our children and other citizens with reasonable gun access measures are at the heart of the march.

            I have to say that I fully support the second amendment and its purpose, but I also fully support reasonable measures to keep guns away from those who would wrongly use them. 

            The purpose of the second amendment is to maintain a well armed populace to protect the people and the nation against tyrants, both domestic and foreign.  Under the second amendment people have an irrevocable right, and maybe even a duty, to own and maintain arms.  The revolution that founded our nation, and the current tilt of our nation's President and Congress toward an increasingly authoritarian and Fascist government, makes that need clear. 

            Owning and maintaining firearms for the purpose of hunting is not addressed by the second amendment.  It neither supports or prohibits hunting.   

            Those things having been said, one must understand that with every right granted to us by the constitution, there comes with it a corresponding responsibility to use that right in a safe and constructive manner that contributes to the general welfare of the people, rather than detracting from it.  Common sense tells me that the founding fathers did not intend that the second amendment be used to boost gun sales to make arms dealers richer, or to make guns more easily and readily available to criminals, violent psychopaths, the mentally ill, bullied and abused children, or anxiety riddled, paranoid concealed gun toters.  I think I can say with full confidence that they definitely didn't intend for the second amendment to be used to enable massacres in our schools, churches, and crowds.  There has to be, and I believe there is, room between the second amendment and common sense gun restrictions to provide reasonable safety for all citizens. 

            There will never be perfect and complete safety for all, no matter what we do, but there is plenty more that we can do to improve and work toward that goal.  Getting our politicians to actually do something for their constituents instead of the gun lobbies, and getting people to listen to their common sense and think of themselves and their loved one's safety instead of succumbing to the brain washing propaganda they hear and see on social media would be a start.  Politicians won't do anything unless the people demand that they do so, and the people won't force them to do something until they have to.  Today's march is a welcome step toward making that happen.  Good luck marchers!