David Carlson: A Constitutionalist’s interpretation of the Second Amendment – Daily Journal

If our country isnt going to face up to the fact that we have a gun out-of-control problem, maybe we should just leave the flag flying at half-mast from now on.

Men, most of them white, some mentally ill, and all with easy access to assault rifles, seem to be lining up for their 15 minutes of fame. Their targets? Innocent men, women, grandparents and children shopping at the grocery store, going to school or working in the small business down the street.

Many Americans realize there is something terribly wrong, both socially and spiritually, with a country that has more guns than people. We watch the news, wondering if the latest attack on the innocent will be the tipping point, the moment when the nation rises up and says, enough is enough. But if the killing of children in their own school, the spraying bullets from a hotel room window down on a crowd of people at a concert and the killing of Bible study attendees isnt enough, what is?

Several years ago, I was a guest speaker on religious diversity at an Indiana high school. The day happened to be soon after another mass shooting at a school elsewhere in the country. Before I could start my talk, we had to listen to a message over the intercom from the principal.

The principal reminded students of the schools policy in the event of an armed intruder at the school. I watched the faces of the students as the guidelines were presented. Most of the students looked down as they were instructed, if such a crisis occurred, to turn off the lights in the room, barricade the door and hide under their desks. I will never know how the students absorbed the principals last piece of advice because what he said chilled me to the bone. He told the students that if all else failed, they were to fight for their lives.

No parent or grandparent should accept that this is the best we can offer our children. And every parent knows that children, in order to learn, must feel safe. The majority of Americans, when polled, know that its insane to have assault weapons as easy to buy as French fries. The majority of Americans want some logical gun control legislation.

Yes, we all know about the Second Amendment. Of course, most of us recognize that the Founding Fathers didnt have assault weapons or bazookas in mind when they passed that amendment. So, I want to go on record as being a Strict Constitutionalist. Lets keep the Second Amendment but interpret it as the Founding Fathers did every man has the right to own a musket. You know, that cumbersome weapon that took minutes to load, fire and reload.

A musket, at least, would give our children a fighting chance. Can anyone say that about assault weapons?

David Carlson of Franklin is a professor emeritus of philosophy and religion. Send comments to letters@dailyjournal.net.

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David Carlson: A Constitutionalist's interpretation of the Second Amendment - Daily Journal