"Ask the Rabbi" by R. Mermelstein
QUESTION: Dear Rabbi Mermelstein:
This is a fascinating web site.
I am not in favor of gun control. I am concerned about ownership of
guns by un-trained people. I would lean towards a licensing system for
people that includes a test of gun handling and safety skills, much
like getting a driver's license. Unfortunately, that requires another
level of bureaucracy, but it may be worth it. Owning and renewing a
license would give you the right to purchase guns and ammunition.
I can't drive without a license and insurance.
I can't purchase an air fill for my scuba tank without certification.
The licensing or certification of either has not resulted in the government taking away the right of either.
A gun in an un-trained hand is more dangerous than either example.
And think of all the jobs it would create.
Matthew Waller
24 Jun 1999
ANSWER: Dear Mr. Waller,
Hold on, one moment. Driving
and scuba diving are privileges, not a right as is the Second
Amendment. Can or should the Government have the ability to regulate a
right? Any form of gun control is a recent development in this country.
At a time when guns were more easily obtained, carried without a
license issued by a capricious bureaucrat,
and prevalent in every home, no one screamed for registration,
licensing, certification classes, ad nauseum. It sort of makes
you wonder, doesn't it? Has human nature changed? Absolutely not. Is
crime, murder, and mayhem a modern fad? They are as old as mankind.
What has changed? The common sense of lawmakers to discern a right from
a privilege. And these very legislators bombard the airwaves with their
soapbox harangues and distorted sense of American history and our legal
system. Does gun registration and certification still seem reasonable
to you? Think about it. I already have.
Sincerely,
R. Mermelstein
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