my thoughts on the second amendment . . . - Reader comments at The New York Sun

Recent Blog Posts

Reader comment on:
On Guns, Bloomberg Issues Threat to Capitol Hill Lawmakers
in response to reader comment: Bloomberg has it backwards.

Submitted by Gregg Scott, Jan 25, 2007 12:49

To whom it may concern: As a society we accept the deaths of children and young adults via the swimming pool, bath tub, automobile, consuming hot dogs, bikes, and many other seemingly innocuous objects of play and hygiene. The numbers of deaths and injuries that occur from the inappropriate us of fire arms is insignificant by comparison. Education, proper storage, and training are the only methods to reduce the misuse of firearms. Believing that by limiting even one of the 250,000,000 firearms in the United States will make us safer is sheer insanity. Teaching a young adult to handle firearms safely as they age and acquire the maturity to handle them safely free of supervision is the only proven way to maintain liberty while reducing the rate of accidents. The individuals best able to make that determination are parents and not governments - state or local. In so far as the Second Amendment applying to the states as a collective right as a result of action by States and the Supreme Court; you are wrong. The Bill of Rights exist to act as a brake against governmental authority in relation to basic liberties. Ultimately, if the First Amendment is an individual right then the Second Amendment must be also. The Bill of Rights were written to enable the generations that followed the founders the capacity to secure and maintain liberty for all, not for the few who are comfortable with their liberty being guarded by a professional police force. In a modern society it would be impossible for myself and my neighbors to apprehend and bring to justice a drug dealing ring or other conspirators that create an environment of illegality; this is one of the many reasons we have a professional police force. The police force has no duty to prevent crime at an individual level - the Supreme Court has ruled this as so. The individual is and will always be in the best position to determine when where and how to best defend themselves against threats of harm. Your site describes many acts and laws that through the last 70 years have been erected to restrict my liberty in the arena of firearms. You fail to describe the context. Immigration, Labor Relations, brought tremendous strains to the US. In a weak attempt to stop violent change laws were enacted and rights were breeched. This is nothing new. Sometimes it takes decades to correct a mistake in law. It took a Civil War to enable the federal government the authority it needed to administer the states appropriately, not to mention end slavery. It's also useful to mention that the first act that the old Confederate states took, when the federal troops left, was to restrict fire arms ownership from freed slaves. Finally, one only needs to look at the U.K. to understand what a complete failure it would be to take away an individuals right to bear arms - they use to have it too - way back in 1689. Good luck in your efforts to reduce violence, but remember not all violence is bad. Violence in defense of an individuals or public peace is an honorable notion that should not be discouraged. Take Care, Greg

Note: Comments are screened, and in some cases edited, before posting. We reserve the right to reject anything we find objectionable.

Other reader comments on this article

Comment	By	Date
I believe that what were seeing in Bloomberg's tactics is the beginning of a clever and coordinated scheme to damage... [MORE]	Veriras	Jan 28, 2007 00:36
NYC second amendment anti gun laws came into being because returning WW 1 verterans, many the sons of new european... [MORE]	Peter Smith	Jan 27, 2007 16:22
Bloomberg and NYPD obtained trace data from ATF by asking NYPD to obtain the data for purposes of bringing a... [MORE]	Mt. Man	Jan 25, 2007 06:47
Mister Mayor. About 85% of the patrol officers I work with would rather take assault reports which ended with victims... [MORE]	California Copper	Jan 25, 2007 01:42
I wonder if the toxic and inflamatory anti gun/ gun owner rhetoric spewing from Hizzoner has afected an attitude in... [MORE]	veritas	Jan 27, 2007 13:42
The laws are there! The majority are repeat offenders. If the criminals were put away in the first place and... [MORE]	Darwin Clister	Jan 24, 2007 23:31
Mayor Bloomberg, your jurisdiction ends at the New York city limits. I don't think your job description gives you extraterritorial... [MORE]	Sam in Louisiana	Jan 24, 2007 22:41
"At yesterday's conference, the mayors also released poll results showing support for their cause among Americans." Of course there are some... [MORE]	Mark	Jan 24, 2007 22:10
Mr. Bloomberg is just one more reason a life long New Yorker (upstate for 55 years) like myself, is looking... [MORE]	Edward Cerra	Jan 24, 2007 20:18
Bloomberg's wealth does not make him right. He has broken laws in his attempt to trap gunshops into committing illegal... [MORE]	Chuck	Jan 24, 2007 19:44
I can't understand why the BATFE and other federal law inforcement agencies aren't taking the mayor to task? What gives... [MORE]	E C Sherman	Jan 25, 2007 00:26
Mayor Bloomburg and the other mayors of his colalition need to look at the way in which their cities have... [MORE]	George Chapman	Jan 24, 2007 19:19
Mayor Bloomberg doesn't want a law, the Tiahrt Amendment, that "restricts information that is there and that any rational person... [MORE]	John P. Boyle, D.M.D	Jan 24, 2007 17:56
The reason why we are loosing our liberties is because the elite (Bloomberg) are afraid of "We the People".I am... [MORE]	Mark	Jan 24, 2007 23:20
NRA?! Bloomberg's meeting was protested in DC by the Virginia Citizens Defense League. They do not like the Mayor's illegal... [MORE]	Bruce	Jan 24, 2007 16:48
Mayor Michael Bloomberg is truly a misguided individual. In his attempt to look tough on crime he's continually overstepped his... [MORE]	Rebecca	Jan 24, 2007 15:38
Mr. Billionare Bloomberg is out of touch with the real A merica, he has made comments like " WHY WOULD... [MORE]	John	Jan 24, 2007 22:05
New York Mayor Bloomberg (and the other mayors in his group) keep blaming everyone else for their cities problems. This... [MORE]	Charles Petrik	Jan 24, 2007 14:35
To whom it may concern: As a society we accept the deaths of children and young adults via the swimming pool,...	Gregg Scott	Jan 25, 2007 12:49
Interesting that the mayor of the USA's largest city talk like a mafioso of yore. Gun owners in New York... [MORE]	Mehul Kamdar	Jan 24, 2007 14:32
There is a reason for ATF to be the only enity to utilize gun trace info. It is because the... [MORE]	frankooo	Jan 24, 2007 14:22
How curious, newspapers always say "alleged" even when referring to a murderer caught on videotape. Yet your bias is such... [MORE]	David Lynn Smith	Jan 24, 2007 13:21
You can get a pretty good idea of what a politician relly thinks about freedom and liberty by looking at... [MORE]	Sam Mosin	Jan 24, 2007 12:49
Mayor Bloomberg has a crime problem in NYC, not a gun problem. Criminals cause crime, not guns. Mayor Bloomberg needs... [MORE]	Stuart S. Strickler	Jan 24, 2007 11:04
Criminals are NOT going to have to go through the loopholes that bloombergs gun control sets up. Criminals are called... [MORE]	Jed	Jan 24, 2007 11:00
Old tricks that wont work Mr. Mayor. We're watching and remembering also. How about putting down your thugs instead of our... [MORE]	howard goodman	Jan 25, 2007 01:01
Why doesn't Bloomberg and his gaggle of mayors go after the criminals instead of trying to force his personal version... [MORE]	Carl	Jan 24, 2007 10:58
I think Bloomberg has no idea how to fight crime. He is just after more government control. In short he... [MORE]	Tom Langford	Jan 24, 2007 10:26

Reader comment on:On Guns, Bloomberg Issues Threat to Capitol Hill Lawmakersin response to reader comment: Bloomberg has it backwards.

Other reader comments on this article

Comment on On Guns, Bloomberg Issues Threat to Capitol Hill Lawmakers

Reader comment on:
On Guns, Bloomberg Issues Threat to Capitol Hill Lawmakers
in response to reader comment: Bloomberg has it backwards.