95 Guns

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Maybe because I grew up in the culture, or maybe because I'm a guy, or maybe because my family is into guns even though I don't personally own a gun, I understand Gun-Worshipers. I can maintain my interested face when people ennumerate in loving description what kinds of guns they own, the gun's most effective mode of killing, how they obtained the gun & any trivia they think I might need to know about a particular gun. It's a common theme in America, as common as football, and difficult to simply dismiss as mental illness or fanaticism. People speak of their guns much more often than their automobiles or children. It's telling that there are more private guns in the U.S. than people.</p> <p>Gun-worshipers come in three flavors: those who enjoy the whole idea of guns, how they're made, their historical significance, their specations, the supporting equipment, et al., as much as any hobbyist-sportsmen in any other field. Then there are the people who think of guns as personal protection. They want to arm teachers to protect against school attacks, as well as convenience stores & gas stations. To them, it seems there's no place that having guns wouldn't help. There is also the fringe element who anticipate going to war against what they think is an oppressive Government, but in a liberty nation, how a person thinks is not a crime, even though it may be kooky.</p> <p>After all the controversary about guns, people should know that the issue has already been decided. The Right to own guns has been ruled on in the lower courts numerous times, and SCOTUS has ruled on it twice: District of Columbia v. Heller in 2008, and McDonald et al. v. City of Chicago in 2010. They said, "[T]he Second Amendment protects a personal right to keep and bear arms for lawful purposes, most notably for self-defense within the home." I'm not sure how much clearer it can be?</p>