KenH asks;
How far does "shall not be infringed" go in weaponry? What about tanks, bazookas, jets?
I have no place to park a tank or jet, but would be interested in legally owning a bazooka.
It is legal in my state to own a grenade launcher that I could mount to my legally obtained semi-automatic AK-47 that I purchased
after the assault weapons ban was enacted. These can be purchased from advertizers in
shotgun news.
Most folks wouldn't have the capital to buy tanks and jets, that would probably limit their ownership. What about fully automatic rifles? Why shouldn't we be able to own them or carry handguns hidden on our persons without permits? Criminals (murderers, rapists, robbers, etc)do on a daily basis without fear of these gun laws.
I have worked on many jobs (I do glass service work) in the inner cities. Although I have never witnessed a drive by shooting I have heard the shots ringing out from not to far away. Machine gun fire is very easily recognized!
At the time I wondered what would happen if everyone in that part of the city could legally own "machine guns". Personally I think the drive by's would drop off quickly. The drive byers wouldn't know how many weapons were pointed at them and be afraid to start shooting. I know I would be. I would definately think twice or three times about breaking in someones house also.
Why do we have nuclear weapons? To deter people from firing theirs at us?
I own several of the so called "assault weapons" (legally purchased and owned) they really didn't ban the ownership, mostly just the importation. They are brought to this country now by importing the parts or "kits" then the importers build them here and make them legal to sell and own by adding a number of American made parts (sec. 922r). You can get an idea of this by reading in the shotgun news link here. I have loads of fun at the range and yes I do have one of them set up to hunt with. We have a huge woodchuck (ground hog) varmint population here. I enjoy shooting them, tinkering on them, loading ammo for them and for security. I pray I never have to use one against another human being. But, today you never know. I would rather not be forced to defend my life or a family members life against an attacker armed with a gun with only my wits,or my legs I just can't run as fast as I could 30 some years ago.
My personal chioce for home defense is my twelve ga shotgun. My daughter has a .410 ga shotgun. She has been trained on the safe and proper use of firearms since the age of four years old and has no unreasonable fear of them. They are only tools, inert objects with no thoughts of their own. They are only dangerous in the wrong (untrained, unrespectful, or criminal) hands.