The Panic - Part 2
Today's adventure was going and trying to get some ammunition for my rifle that's on it's way. The rifle, in case you aren't keeping up, is a Colt AR-15 that I purchased on Monday night.It, as most AR-15s, shoots a Remington .223 / NATO 5.56x45mm cartridge. Yes, I know they are different; the gun I'm getting is speced for the more powerful 5.56 variant so the .223 will be just fine.My goal, like I said, was to get some ammunition. I rolled the dice by going to Cabela's. There has been a run on .223 ammo. There wasn't anything online so I figured I might as well wing it and try the brick-and-mortar. The shelf with the .223s was picked clean; all that was left was some tracer ammo. Near the gun pickup counter was a pile of it, but it was all steel-cased stuff. I'm sure it would go bang, but I wouldn't be able to make it go bang a second time. (Steel cases aren't considered reloadable, but I suppose ITSHTF they could be made to work. Not ideal in any case.) In an end-cap of an isle I found 12 boxes of 20 .223. I took my bag limit of 10 and left two for the next guy to claim.Victory!While I was at it I picked up another thousand small rifle primers, a pound of powder and a hundred bullets to start with. (Math: 1000 primers + 3-4 pounds of powder + 1000 bullets = 1000 cartridges, ergo: I need more powder and bullets)
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My mission being accomplished I looked at the rest of the store. I have never seen a busier gun counter in my life. They were taking numbers to talk to sales-people. They were calling people waiting around once the background checks cleared. This isn't just me. This is actually a lot of people.I had to circulate the parking lot a few times to find a parking spot. Nearly got hit in the process by someone pulling out. he did not, to his credit, actually hit me, but rather freed up a spot for me!
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The second amendment was written in a time cooling off from a of war. The notion of the United States was new. It was new because we, as a people, defeated the incumbent monarchy of the English crown.
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.
Let us take this point by point."Well regulated" this means trained. Regulation, in this case, does not mean legislated. It's like the regulation of a watch -- it works as intended."Militia." I'll leave it to someone of that era:
Who are the militia? Are they not ourselves? Is it feared, then, that we shall turn our arms each man gainst his own bosom. Congress have no power to disarm the militia. Their swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birthright of an American...[T]he unlimited power of the sword is not in the hands of either the federal or state governments, but, where I trust in God it will ever remain, in the hands of the people.---Tenche Coxe, The Pennsylvania Gazette, Feb. 20, 1788.
"Security of a free state." This is talking about freedom of all of us. This is freedom in the most abstract sense. This is the freedom to be free from tyranny."The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."Yeah, that. It does not say muskets. It does not say arms of the era. Freedom of speech at the time was you, quite literally, getting up on a soapbox to speak; freedom of speech now includes things like the Internet. Ditto for freedom of the press; it is not just people futzing around with movable type. The freedoms granted are broad -- deliberately so.The framers of the constitution were fearful of the government they were setting up. This is not about a "sporting purpose" (though that is what I use it for). This isn't about zombies and the apocalypse. This is for defense of each of us, from whatever it is we have to defend ourselves from.This is not the people of today being gun nuts. This is the original authors being fearful of that which they are themselves setting up.Why did I buy this gun?Because I can. Because I believe in my rights.
All of my rights.
Every one of them.
Even if you don't have or want a gun, you should believe in the rights you have. That are granted to you by the founders of this country.