The Second Amendment

The Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America asserts, "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." At the time when this amendment was passed, the country was still primarily an agrarian and hunting society, guns were a household item, and necessary for daily life. The armed farmer was the principal soldier in the revolution to establish an independent country. The framers of the Constitution understood that these gun-wielding countrymen were essential to the revolution, and wanted to insure the people would never be defenseless. In recent decades, with the waning practical application of guns in an industrialized nation, the Second Amendment has come under much fire. Living in a technologically advanced country, United States citizens no longer have a need for guns in their everyday lives and, therefore, many Americans have grown up in gun-less homes. The recent rash of violence across the country has shown that the ideals of modern American society have gone awry. Many are quick to blame guns as the reason for this violence. Actually, the problem is not the possession of guns; Americans have had them for over 200 years. Instead, the demise of the morals of society and the lack of restraint of the American public have caused the recent violent trend. Guns are merely a tool. In the hands of immoral and undisciplined people, they are put to evil purposes. The problem lies in the fact that the amendment was created to deal with the muzzle-loaders of the time, and now guns have evolved into killing machines, not just hunting rifles. These new guns however, are no more capable of killing without a man controlling them; guns have been prevalent for literally hundreds of years without being used as weapons for humans against humans, except in times of war. Guns have been in American homes since 1776, and they were not associated with violence until recently. The current trend of school and workplace violence is due to the desensitization of the American people through television, movies and even music. Movie and television producers are businessmen, and they produce what sells, that usually being violence. With the American public watching such films, and loving them, the influence on everyday life cannot be ignored. Statistical facts from other countries show the USA to be much more violent than most other industrialized