Mr. George Roof is splitting hairs on the word “democracy” (“How about some common sense in gun laws?”). On one side of the split hair is the use of the word in our founding documents. He’s right; it’s not in there because we are officially a republic. But, on the other side of the hair, the Constitution talks about the election of representatives, in Article 1, Section 2, and the 17th Amendment changed the choosing of senators from election by the various state legislatures to election by the people of those various states. If that’s not democracy, then what does he call it?
He, as do most advocates of everyone having guns, forgets or ignores the first part of the Second Amendment: a “well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State.” How many current gun owners have ever been or are now members of a well-regulated militia?
Considering there are enough guns sloshing around in the U.S. for every person to own one, probably not too many.
Steve Caporiccio
Magnolia
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
