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February 5, 2013

Amendment can’t be taken literally regarding firearms

The Norman Transcript

NORMAN — Editor, The Transcript:

When Lisa Simpson called the Second Amendment a remnant of revolutiony periods with no real meaning today, Homer set her straight: “You couldn’t be more wrong, Lisa. If I didn’t have this gun, the king of England could come in here and start pushing you around.”

Based on America’s reaction to restoring some sane gun control — shelves picked clean, editorials warning of tyranny — Queen Elizabeth is on her way to make us buy expensive tea.

Lisa Simpson is right. Our constitution is a briliant framework for democracy. It unleashed the human spirt that creates the wonders of the modern world. The document is also a snapshot of the times. A sparse far-flung new republic required a well-armed militia if it’s to survive.

By 1812, America had enough well-armed militia to at least fight its way to a standstill when we tired of having citizens pressed into the Royal Navy.

For all their brilliance, our Founding Fathers wore powdered wigs and knickers, and some owned humans. Times change. Literally reading the Second Amendment to justify high-tech militay weapons and huge magazines seems an absurd extrapolation.

America didn’t invent the republic, and we’re not the best practitioner around lately. Other countries do it for far less than $6 billion and the citizenry isn’t locked and loaded for combat. In fact, they think our infatuation with guns is bizzare.

We’re on a long arc in the wrong direction in getting a handle on guns. People have been buying ammo by the forklift since the Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy. Reforms will be hard fought.

The firearms industry showed no compunction bringing the president’s daughters into the debate. It’s no holds barred. Stoking paranoia is big business. Here’s hoping we can seize the tragic momentum of the moment and restore a little sanity.

David Orr

Norman

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