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Amendment 2 - Right to Bear Arms. Ratified 12/5/1791.

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

Note the date.

I'm a Brit, so feel free to throw stones. We were at war ( on and off) during this period.

1/ The purpose of this amendment (it seems to me) was to provide a quickly mobilisable civil army to repel foreign invasion.

And in view of eg the later battle of Baltimore, 1812, perhaps a good precaution.

2/ The firearms available then were pistols and muskets - the rifle hadn't been invented in 1791 ( or had it ?). You couldn't kill lots of people quickly with a muzzle-loader.

Times have moved on.

I fear that now the USA's position is irretrievable - they're so awash with high performance modern firearms that no legislation will make any difference. They're as freely available to decent citizens as they are to nutters , criminals and even young children, who , with no evil intent, have accidents.

I worked in the USA for some time, and thoroughly enjoyed it - I have nothing but respect and affection for the country and it's people .

But in this area , I think you're mad . It should have been tackled in the mid 20th century, as Europe did.

But I'm afraid it's too late now.

Best wishes

Allan