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GUEST POST

Screw The Second Amendment

We need to regulate guns like we regulate other things that kill

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by ChrisHahn

Democratic consultant and pundit t

Image: AP.

When it comes to the Second Amendment, the Founders' intent was voided long ago. Let's be clear, Jefferson believed that, "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." In modern terms, Tom thought a little revolution every now and then is good for democracy.

I disagree. Today we call people intent on overthrowing our government terrorists. The fact that we have gone over 150 years without a civil war is why we are the shining beacon of hope and opportunity in the world. Jefferson was wrong. Stability is what has made our republic strong and kept us free.

The Second Amendment is not about hunting or self-protection. It was about political power that today would equate to citizens owning Apache helicopters, stealth bombers, drones and nuclear submarines. I doubt many NRA members would support that. We need to regulate guns like we regulate other things that kill. Like automobiles we should require registration and insurance.

Like drugs, we need to know why you're buying it. How can anyone think marijuana is more dangerous than a Glock 9? No one should ever be allowed to purchase any gun for any reason without a serious waiting period.

Let's not have a self-protection argument as it was never the Framers intent. It's absurd to believe, as some wing nuts do, that if the principal and teachers were armed the Newtown, Conn., elementary school massacre wouldn't have happened. The first victim was heavily armed and now she's dead. More guns are not the answer to the problem of violence in our nation.

Look at the ridiculous laws championed by the NRA and gun advocates.

Guns on campus. When I was in college you couldn't have a microwave.

Conceal-and-carry. If guns are supposed to deter violence why conceal it. Holster it up cowboy.

Guns on Amtrak. I guess they're worried about a Billy the Kid Copycat or maybe too many of them are watching bad Steven Segal movies from the 90's.

Here's the rub. Unless these measures are in place to help Americans overthrow their government they are not covered by the Second Amendment. And if you're pushing for measures to overthrow the government, maybe you shouldn't have a gun.

Next time you see a member of Congress pushing a pro-gun agenda, ask them why they feel the U.S. government needs to be overthrown. Ask them why they support terrorism. The Second Amendment has been voided by history and was never in place for any of the reasons the NRA, any senator or congressman has given as a reason for opposing sensible gun regulation since Reconstruction.

I'm not opposed to hunting, shooting sports or honest people owning guns. However if you own a gun it should be registered and you should have to consent to a background check that exposes any mental irregularities. Assault weapons and high capacity rounds are good for one purpose only and should be forever banned. If you need an assault weapon to make you feel like more of a man you have problems big enough to keep you from owning one.

Christopher Hahn is a highly sought-after progressive pundit, political consultant and attorney based in New York. He is a veteran of over 1,000 national television appearances on a variety of political and public policy topics. Christopher's skill in dealing with public policy issues was honed during five years he served as a senior aide to Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), and as chief deputy county executive for Nassau County, N.Y. He is an avid runner, tri-athlete and an accomplished improv comic. Follow him on Twitter @christopherhahn.

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Comments (view in Forum)

  • u
    oldkicker
    !
    in a country without the 2nd ammendment, you would aready have been thrown in a ditch by your government. it is because of the 2nd ammendment that our country has been free of tyrannical rule. smarter than Jefferson? puuleeeeeese!!!!!
  • u
    Cheenoguy
    !
    @oldkicker
    You think so? People in Britain, Canada, Switzerland,... criticize their government while having very strict gun laws. Yet they are getting rounded up. The government with the baddest military on the planet isn't afraid of you Rambo types.
  • u
    oldkicker
    !
    obviously.......YOU never raised your right hand and put your butt on the line to defend your country and FREEDOM. don't know many veterans that would voluntarily give up their 2nd ammendment rights for a pinch of 'safety'. if you believe differently, you are naive.
  • View all 36 replies >
  • Keyjo
    !
    Breaking News!
    They (CNN) just reported that cops are responding to a middle school shooting in Atlanta!
    This gun control debate isn't going to subside like in the past, not at this rate.
  • o
    NTBFW
    !
    @Keyjo I have plenty of time. I will not stop this fight. Again it happened in a gun free zone by a minor that was in illegal possession of a firearm. Enforce some of the 9000 existing laws.
  • DomesticG
    !
    @Keyjo I live near Atl...don't get involved much in Gun Control debates through my FB groups...but I sure had some words for someone who said "I don't give a shit about the 2nd Amendment! It needs to be changed. They change laws all the time."
    Ummmmm, hello?! Not like this is some willy-nilly odd law on the books here! Some people just grate on me!
  • Keyjo
    !
    @DomesticG
    Exactly. And this is such an emotionally charged issue. If we could sit back and take some time for rational discussion, intelligent offering of solutions..........
    Solutions that consider the entire spectrum of the problem. If every gun in America, the world, was confiscated and destroyed, killers would still find a way to kill, maybe even in more tragic numbers. Airliners are hijacked with box-cutters, federal buildings blown up with fertilizer. Both mass killings were greater tolls than any school or mall shooting.
    But every time there is another shooting, the scab is ripped off and the bleeding starts over.
  • View all 6 replies >
  • NormalFlora
    !
    Innocent children are getting pregnant? I'm shocked!!! Or are you just talking about a clump of cells with the intellect of a garden snail?
  • SavageMazx
    !
    @NormalFlora if the Mars rover is able to find even a few clumps of living cells, or even dead ones for that matter, clinging to a rock what would the head lines be? "LIFE FOUND ON MARS" So it's either life or its not, now the question, as you have pointed out, of when it's considered a person is another one all together. Sticky situation isn't. At what point is it a lump of cells and at what point is it a child.
  • Zazziness
    !
    @SavageMazx "now the question, as you have pointed out, of when it's considered a person is another one all together"
    And it's an intensely personal question with only subjective answers. That means the only person who can answer it is the woman, her doctor and her friends and family. In private. It is not the business of strangers who don't know her or her circumstances, to impose their subjective answer on her by force.
  • u
    formerrepub
    !
    Oh pardon me, I didn't realize that "men" are so smart they already know the answer and can dictate their will to the rest of us who actually have a faith or believe in a higher being other than ourselves or the goverment. I figured since this LLSBA, was imposing his will on gunowners, then one is to assume he would be more than willing to defend all innocent people. Guess that's not the case with progressives, sorta of a pick and chose your what you stand for or against even though they contradict each other.
  • View all 16 replies >
  • u
    tomincali
    !
    says it all about this person,seems people like this need to find another country like china to live in. i am sure though this will be said over and over so the sheeple will follow the piper as the gov does will all things they want to take away from the people,then things like this prove some do not care about the people as in "We The People"
  • u
    S-N-A-F-U
    !
    The fact is, America was designed by Geniuses, and of late run by Idiots, especially Lawyers that occupy both the WH and the Congress. -- Forget what they say, look what they do.....
  • DyingBreed
    !
    So a peaceful person who has never harmed anyone is terrorist just for owning guns? Doesn't being branded a terrorist require an act of TERRORISM?

    People like you scare me. You consider someone not only "guilty until proven innocent" but also guilty before committing a crime.
  • thatguy812
    !
    Anybody who tries to alter our Bill of Rights is a traitor, and exercising your freedom and rights as a citizen of the republic does not by any means make you a terrorist.
  • o
    NTBFW
    !
    If 80 million gun owners were really terrorist, then they would not put up with people like you. They would have already killed you. Instead we defend your right to say insane things like this.
  • Denizen_Kate
    !
    I own a gun. Am I a terrorist? Define "gun hoarders." Frankly, I think this guest writer's views are extreme, especially when he says we should have to explain to the government WHY we want a gun. How about NOYFB? My mother (age 82) has a concealed carry permit because she was [almost] the victim of a violent crime. If she decides to buy a new gun, should she have to relive that horror for some government bureaucrat?
  • View all 6 replies >
  • SavageMazx
    !
    So how does the author plan on regulating crazy or someone who is just plan evil? It's the typical idea that the tool is the problem, not the one wielding it. Ban guns and knife crime will go up....then we ban knives.....where does it end? Cars, rocks and hammers? If someone wants to kill someone else, the will find away. If anything is screwed its the author this rubbish.
  • u
    Realthinker
    !
    No. His premise is incorrect. If in fact there is a rebellion against the government, what thinking person really believes the army is going to use tanks, or helicopters against the occupant of one house on the block? They will not. Besides, the enforcement, if there is any, would be at the local level. The problem isn't guns, it's the lack of adequate treatment for the mentaly ill. Why are Americans tolerating that?
  • Dan_Tien
    !
    "...what thinking person really believes the army is going to use tanks, or helicopters against the occupant of one house on the block?"

    Helicopters, you say? "In 1985, the group (MOVE) made national news when police dropped a bomb on the Osage house from a helicopter in an attempt to end an armed standoff. The explosion ignited a fire in which 11 people died, including five children and the group's leader, John Africa. Only two occupants survived, Ramona, an adult and Birdie, a child. In addition, 65 homes were destroyed as the entire block burned."

    The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire! We don't need no water let the m@t%#rf^<*er burn!
  • kathyparsell
    !
    @Realthinker Please don't destroy their fantasys of the entire Armed Forces and all civilian police turning on the populace, it gives them such joy!
  • View all 50 replies >
  • o
    Republican5001
    !
    Upon all his accolades he fails to mention he's the mayor of fire island, New York.

    What a douche. Just reiterates the fact that the entire Northeast should be cut out of America like a tumor.
  • Thunderchicken
    !
    "Assault weapons and high capacity rounds are good for one purpose only and should be forever banned."

    If you view that purpose as putting a large amount of lead in the air in a short period of time, I agree. The banned part comes in depending how you use the weapon. Just as it would with any tool, car or gun.
  • hwyangel
    !
    Here is the simple logic.

    According to the FBI, 323 murders were committed with rifles in 2011.

    http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr...e-data...

    Slate Magazine, a pretty liberal online publication, estimates there are 196 million rifles in the US.

    http://www.slate.com/blogs/crime/201...n_amer...

    So let's do the math. 323 / 196,000,000 equals a 0.00000164795% chance a rifle will be used in a crime in a given year, based on the latest statistics.. But let's do you a favor and only count the 1.4 million assault rifle Slate says are in the country. 323 /1,400,000 equals a 0.00023071428% chance an assault weapon will be used to murder someone in a given year. Does it sound like an assault weapon ban will be an effective tool for reducing crime?
  • Zazziness
    !
    He makes some good points though I still have the same hesitation about bans -- I don't think they work. If enough mainstream citizens want a product (like an AR-15, for instance) and the government bans it, the ban is unenforceable. The trade goes to the black market where it is handled by organized crime -- and why should we want to funnel more money into their hands?
    I agree registration and background checks are essential and reasonable to ask of folks. But bans? Not so sure it's a good idea.
  • SavageMazx
    !
    Good post, well thought out and balanced. The issue I have is that if the Second Amendment goes away, there will be nothing
    left to protect us from an all out ban.
  • u
    AceLuby
    !
    Totally agree, it's why banning drugs hasn't worked. Background checks, registration, and mandatory waits seem like common sense though...
  • Denizen_Kate
    !
    @AceLuby - Exactly right. The last time we banned a popular recreational drug (alcohol) we ended up with organized crime and income taxes.
  • DogLady_1
    !
    We don't regulate everything that can kill. There are no regulations on kitchen knives, scissors, hammers, matches, lighters or fists. And one in three homicides in this country are committed by such items. We cannot control murderous tendencies by regulating all things used as weapons.
  • John_Tremblay
    !
    But your comment is based upon common sense and logic. The author of this article possesses neither of those. His comments are founded upon pure emotion and want to be servile and to the nanny state which is apparently convinced will protect him in the absence of his willingness to protect himself.
  • stepped_in_it
    !
    "We need to regulate guns like we regulate other things that kill" I hate this continuing saga of the 2nd amendment! My first thought....."other things that kill".....like knives, hammers, cars, clubs, baseball bats, alcohol, McDonald's burgers, script medicine, politicians going to war for corporation agenda......(I could continue for all day on this one).
  • WMCOL
    !
    Chris, being an attorney it is surprizing you never mentioned the only way to legally get rid of Second Amendment: Amend the Constitution. Otherwise you are just spouting emotional babble that has no basis in reason and good sense.

    What must have happened is you went to sleep and woke up in some country other than the USA. Go to sleep again and see if you can wake-up in a more sound presence of mind.
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