Gun Regulation - The Time Has Come

In the wake of the Newton shootings, momentum is building for real change to our gun control laws.  The mothers of Netwon, Connecticut - and mothers all over the country - will take on the gun lobby and the do-nothing US congress.  The mothers will win.  There is no force in politics that can equal mothers when they are armed with facts, logic, perseverence, and the emotional power of murdered school children.

Based on the December 21, 2012 comments by Wayne LaPierre of the National Rifle Association - full disclosure:  my father is a life member - the NRA is not willing to be part of the discussion.  This is a mistake.  The NRA has done an excellent job of protecting its members' interests.  However, any objective observer of the gun debate can see that the momentum is moving towards more regulation.  If the NRA does not get on board, its members will not be represented in this debate, and they will not be happy with the outcome.

As the debate gets started, it is worthwhile to look back at the Second Amendment to the Constitution.  It states, in full:  "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."  Gun rights advocates tend to focus on the second part, while no mention is made of the first.  When considering the Second Amendment as a whole - we must assume that this is what the members of the Constitutional Convention in 1789 intended - it is clear that a the right to keep and bear arms is not absolute.  Regulation and security can and should be part of the discussion.   

Let's hope Congress is able to move past the emotional positions taken by both sides in this debate and focus on what the authors of the Second Amendment intended.