Regulation and responsibility

The Second Amendment limits gun ownership to those who are part of a “well-regulated militia.” The NRA states that gun owners are required to be responsible for what their guns do.

Taken together, here’s the plan: an individual has a right to one gun, a registered pistol, at home. Any other firearms that individual cares to own must be registered and stored in a regulated armory and the individual must be a member of a well-regulated militia. The individual’s gun at home is the individual’s responsibility — meaning that whatever that gun does is owned by the individual. The gun is stolen and used to harm; the gun is borrowed by a kid and used to harm; any harm done by that registered gun is considered to have been done by the registered owner. The firearms stored at the armory are also the responsibility of the registered owner with the same results should the firearm be used to cause harm. Further, any individual found to have an unregistered firearm will serve a mandatory two-year prison sentence.

Any firearm owner who believes this plan takes away their rights must now make a case for their own method of responsible gun ownership that takes into consideration the Second Amendment’s requirement as to the well-regulated militia.

Sandra Christensen

Spokane