When it comes to freedom of speech issues, many of those things are just as hotly contested as the 2nd Amendment. Child pornography and yelling "fire!" in a theater are outlawed because they actively endanger innocent people (meaning the act itself causes harm), but obscenity laws are being contested.
People can say "fire" in certain circumstances, and not in others. The trend in terms of the 2nd Amendment is much more severe; it would be like banning use of the word fire altogether.
I agree with your key points regarding whether or not a weapon should be banned.
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What about the people that just flip out one day and start shooting people at random?
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You can use the same argument to ban cars, chainsaws, axes, and a host of other items that have been used by psychopaths. Extreme situations such as that, while a valid concern, are outside the realm of the government's control. Removing a tool does not solve the problem.
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I understand that the term "assault rifle" is poorly defined. That needs to be addressed. However the 2nd Amendment is like all the other Amendments with respect to how limits may need to be placed as time and technology advances.
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I agree that legislation must be used to address changing times. The problem is that much of the legislation (including the AWB) does not address changing times, it utterly violates an established right. Assault weapons are not poorly defined; the AWB provides specific descriptions. An assault weapon is defined as a semi-automatic weapon (meaning one shot per pull of the trigger) that contains specific cosmetic items such as a pistol grip on a rifle or a flash suppressor. The ban has had no effect on crime, as many of the weapons are available in other formats without the cosmetic changes. In essence our government banned weapons that look nasty.
Should children be allowed to own machine guns? Of course not. Should criminals be able to walk into Wal*Mart and buy a missile launcher? No. But law-abiding citizens should be allowed to own and purchase any small arm that they desire, and be allowed to carry that weapon (concealed or openly displayed) on public property.
If someone wants to own a gun, they should be allowed to request and obtain a license. They should need to go through proper safety training and complete demonstration (just like getting a drivers license), and register their firearms in the same manner that they register a car.