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For the love of violence

Violence (n) — Physical force exerted for the purpose of violating, damaging, or abusing. [American Heritage Dictionary]

Americans have a love affair with violence. Perhaps it all started when people had to defend their homesteads, carved out of the wilderness, against Indian forays, and to keep their larders full. No police protected these settlers, who had to be their own law and order.

As the country moved into the western wilderness, this need for independence intensified. "The Lord made big men and little men," went the common phrase, "but Sam Colt made them all equal." And who became our heroes? Homicidal misfits like Tom Quick, murderers like Billy the Kid, sociopaths like the James brothers or John Dillinger.

Americans combine this love of violence with social activity (as evidenced by groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and the Freemen now under siege in Montana). As our early settlers struggled to tame the wilderness, they needed some sort of combined force. With armies few and far between, or unavailable at all, groups known as militia became necessary. These groups, which include the western posse, were on call at all times. One such group was the combined Goshen and Warwick militias, and it was wiped out at the battle of Minisink Ford, right on a hill overlooking the Delaware River near Barryville.

Today, there is no need for a militia. Police forces maintain law and order, and each state maintains its own National Guard in case more extensive coverage is required.

When the Constitution was accepted as the law of the land, the militia concept was still important. Let’s take a look at just what the Second Amendment of the Constitution says: "A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."

That’s it. And since the militia is no longer required to maintain order, the second amendment is obsolete.

But there are those who have plucked words from the Second Amendment to suit their particular ideas, and say that "the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."

The Seventh Amendment says you are entitled to a jury trial when you go to court over a matter of $20 or more. Twenty dollars was big money when the Constitution was drafted. Observing this particular amendment today would hopelessly clog our courts, with juries needed for traffic and parking tickets. Times have changed, and so must we change. So should it be with the Second Amendment.

Firearms, or rather their possession, have a place in our society. Hunting, skeet shoots, and such recreational uses of firearms are enjoyed by many men and women. For smaller arms, such as those which may be concealed on the person, possession is restricted to law enforcement agencies or those who may need them. To this end we have made laws licensing such persons to carry handguns. This latest brouhaha over allowing automatic weapons is just plain ridiculous. What use is there for a machine gun? You can’t hunt deer with it, nor can you shoot clay pigeons. The only purpose for a machine gun is to kill large numbers of people in times of war.

"But no!" scream the gun lobbyists, "The Second Amendment says blah, blah, and blah." And since this pressure group donates large sums to our public officers in congress, the proposed law restricting such weaponry is quashed.

Enjoy your hunting and target skills. If you have a legitimate need for a handgun, get a license. The fear of Indian raids doesn’t exist any longer, and the sheriff has arrested all the rustlers. Let’s worry about more important things.