My father gave me a .22-caliber rifle for my 16th birthday. We shot it together for target practice far out of town at empty plastic milk containers. After heading off to college, my birthday rifle sat on a shelf for years. Then my mother and father had to move out of their house and into a retirement community. That was when I was reminded, after all those years: I am a gun owner.
People like me across this nation have an obligation. As gun owners, let’s become better acquainted with the Second Amendment:
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.
Credit: contributed
Credit: contributed
Much has been made about the second clause: “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” But rarely to do we hear about the first clause:
“A well-regulated Militia …”
To regulate is to establish agreed-upon guidelines, to abide by those guidelines and to maintain some sense of common order as a result of those guidelines. Regulations are to be equally shared and equitably maintained, including penalties for those who fail to abide by them.
The safety of our children and of future generations depends upon how seriously we take this first part of the Second Amendment.
We have great power. Regular folks like me, whether from childhood gifts or adulthood hobbies of gun ownership, hold massive leverage. According to the Switzerland-based Small Arms Survey, we have 393 million privately owned firearms in our country. That is 120.5 guns for every 100 Americans, the highest rate of gun ownership by far of any country in the world. This is twice the rate of gun ownership over the next country on the list, Yemen, at 52.8 guns per 100. Yemen! And that country has been embroiled in civil war for the last 9 years. This is not a statistic we should be proud of.
And yet, the very imbalance of these numbers indicates enormous potential. If only half of those of us who are gun owners would began to insist that we follow the first clause of the Second Amendment more closely, we could change our national trajectory on gun violence immediately.
This brings us to the Second Clause of the Second Amendment:
The right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
The Potential Solution
Regulations need not stifle our freedoms. This second clause follows the first one. Therefore, they are not mutually exclusive but mutually dependent. One is intimately connected to the other. The first clause lays the foundation for the second: we can keep and bear arms because and so long as we act as a well-regulated militia.
Regulations benefit us every day. We have traffic lights, stop signs, driver’s licenses, seat belts, banned smoking in public places, environmental regulations, pollution control. When they positively impact our lives, most of us appreciate wisely applied and equally mandated regulations. Society benefits and public health improves.
We cannot continue on our current path. Thankfully, we have a better way that appears consistent with the vision of the framers.
Today’s militia
Given the overwhelming numbers of guns scattered across our nation, we are the militia of today. Therefore, the expectation of a well-regulated militia means you and me. We are the descendants of those who made up the well-regulated state militias and a Continental Army of early patriots. Like them, we need to abide by the first part of this Second Amendment. We also need to acknowledge the real problem.
We already are violating our own Second Amendment. Let’s review again the Second Amendment’s first clause that we hear so little about.
A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, ...
Statistics bear this out: we are setting records for mass shootings. Gun violence in our society yields massive insecurity. Therefore, this first clause of the Second Amendment teeters on the abyss. The “security of a free state” is clearly being infringed by gun violence. Therefore, without any violation of the second clause, the viability of the Second Amendment is already being taken from us. We deserve better. Let us demand renewed efforts to reestablish the order that a full reading of the Second Amendment demands.
The violation of the Second Amendment is happening. Let us address this violation about with sensible, viable gun laws that will limit battlefield weapons like the AR-15. Background checks, waiting periods and mental health requirements are reasonable, workable beginnings to what numerous polls tell us the majority of Americans desire.
Let the gun owners of America unite. We are the militia that we must help one another regulate. The security of our free state is at risk. Let’s get to work.
Dr. David Jordan is the senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Decatur. He is the author of three books, numerous articles, poetry, an online sermon series and a short story. Throughout his ministry, he has offered leadership in a number of peace and justice initiatives, including racial justice, environmental concerns, interfaith work and educational programs involving Palestinians and Israelis, Muslims, Christians and Jews.
About the Author
