Gun Rights, or Wrongs?

The discussion of gun rights with gun control zealots often reverts to the concept of restrictions of other constitutional rights, classically the proscription of yelling ‘fire’ in a crowded theater.  This is actually a very good teaching point.  Of course, if there is a fire in the theater alerting other patrons is an act of heroism, not terrorism.  But if there is not fire and the intent is malicious, such an act could lead to harm or even trampling death of moviegoers.  This obviously is a crime.  But the crime is not in having the right of free speech, rather using it in a dangerous and malicious manner with intent to harm.  In this country we do not engage in prior censorship of speech or written word.  People are free to say or write anything, understanding that if this speech or writing is intentionally malicious and harmful it could result in criminal prosecution and punishment.  This is the deterrent function of the law.  The right of free speech remains unalienable.

Likewise, the right of private citizens to keep and bear arms is an unalienable right ensconced in the constitution, which means it too comes from God not government and it is the specific role of government to protect that right.  Similar to the example above, if a gun is used in a dangerous and malicious manner with intent to harm a crime has been committed with the gun.  That crime is proscribed by law and may result in arrest, prosecution and punishment which might include incarceration and the loss of the right of that individual to legally own a gun in the future.  The Second Amendment right still stands in the general sense.  There has been no prior censorship to gun, ammunition or magazine ownership by the general public at large.  Rather in specific instances individuals either with criminal records or clear dangerous mental instability may be lose the right to own a gun.  This is a very narrow sliver of the population and this practice must be cautiously monitored for government abuse. 

We do not gag people or cut out the voice boxes of people with propensities to speak dangerously or take typewriters away from subversive writers.  To proscribe gun ownership, ammunition ownership, or high-capacity magazine ownership or make such ownership so convoluted, complicated and monitored as to de facto make such ownership near impossible, is a general prior proscription of the Second Amendment right of the citizenry to keep and bear arms.  Clearly this is not the intent of the constitution or the proper role of government.  This is shades of Pre-Crime a la “Minority Report.” 

The proper role of government is to strain as far as possible to protect these God-given rights found in the constitution.  The constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens must not be adversely affected by the actions of government in prosecuting individuals who may have committed crimes in the exercise of their constitutional rights.