The second amendment of the U.S. Constitution states:
“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.”
In a 58-39 vote, Republicans fell 2 votes short of passing an amendment that would have allowed gun owners to carry their weapons across state lines without regard for stricter laws in many jurisdictions, giving preference to states with looser standards. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) , sponsor of the amendment, is considered the most far reaching federal effort ever proposed to expand laws to allow weapons ownership.
Offered as an amendment to the annual defense authorization bill, it would allow people to carry concealed firearms across state lines, provided they "have a valid permit or if, under their state of residence ... are entitled to do so." This means that someone who had a concealed-carry permit for his gun in a state like Vermont -- with some of the loosest gun-control laws in the nation -- could cross over into other states with their guns and not be found guilty of violating those states' tighter gun laws."This carefully tailored amendment will ensure that a state's border is not a limit to an individual's fundamental right and will allow law-abiding individuals to travel without complication throughout the 48 states that already permit some form of conceal and carry," Thune said during Wednesdays' sometimes heated debate.
Gun control is an important and debatable issue in America today, and has been over the past decades. With increases in gun-related crime, many blame the gun control laws instead of the offender or corrupt communities. This amendment to the defense authorization bill would have supported our founding fathers’ initial intentions. If the regulations for permits became stricter and background checks for purchasing a gun were more invasive, then it would be harder to obtain a gun. People should be allowed to own a firearms if they wish, but obtaining one should be the problem. It’s the person who holds the gun that is dangerous, not necessarily the gun itself. We as American citizens have the right to bear arms and Thune was merely trying to embrace this right.
Do you believe that this amendment should have been passed? Do the restrictions on gun-control confirm the entire American society’s moral beliefs?
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As someone who thinks Constitutional rights should always come first i would say that the amendment is sound. On the other hand, as someone who doesn't believe guns should even exist i would say this law is proposterous because it pretty much does away with gun control all together; everyone who wants to conceal and carry can just get a place in vermont and apply for the permit. America is split on issues like this and law's "narrowly tailored" like this are useless methods to make one half of a country content while the other half remains outraged.
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