Second Amendment is not about hunting

letter to the editor of Herald and News by Steve Rapalyea, Chiloquin 1/25/13

A short primer on Second Amendment, assault rifles, etc.:

The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution is not about hunting. It is about protecting this country from “enemies foreign and domestic.”

When asked about the intent of the Second Amendment, James Madison (its author) said, “That every man be armed.” It is clear from writings of the founders it was also the ultimate check against tyranny should all else fail.

The so-called “assault rifles” the current administration would like to ban, are not “assault rifles” by the U.S. military definition as they are not select fire weapons capable of fully automatic fire.

These rifles are used for hunting as well as for target shooting and defense. They are available in calibers ranging from mice to grizzly bears.

Who needs 30-round magazines? How quickly we forget the Rodney King riots, criminal gangs or Hurricane Andrew, where common citizens (the militia) defended their neighborhoods until order could be restored.

Let teachers who have the desire be trained and armed, not to “casually shoot people” (Bert Singer’s words, not mine), but to have a fighting chance against a deranged assailant. (I cannot imagine any sane person “casually shooting” anybody.) The slimeballs committing these crimes have almost universally surrendered or committed suicide when confronted with armed resistance. And why give them national publicity by mentioning their names? They do not know famous from infamous. They are angry and want the world to remember them forever. Their names should be stricken from all records. The six teachers and administrators who were allegedly shot by a deranged assailant had the desire to protect those innocents who were murdered but none possessed the means. I say “allegedly” shot because they could not possibly have been shot in a “gun-free zone!”

Steve Rapalyea

Chiloquin

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