Gov. Perry's gun position reminiscent of Archie Bunker

Pegasus News | Larry James:

“Last week, Texas Governor Rick Perry told us that he thinks anyone who is licensed to carry a gun in Texas should be able to carry it anywhere, including to church, in a bar or a courthouse. ... Sort of reminds me of Archie Bunker's strategy to end airline high jacking in the 1970s: 'When passengers board, just pass out the 45s and no one will have a problem.' ”

Ed Cognoski responds:

One problem would be exchanged for another. The number of hijackings might go down. The number of mass murders, like at Virginia Tech, might go down. But the number of heated arguments that end up in murder would probably go up. Whether society would be better off is debatable.

But if we're going to go down this route anyway, we ought to at least consider an approach that I haven't seen discussed anywhere. The Second Amendment states,

"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."

Gun-rights advocates play this as their trump card whenever gun control regulations are proposed. Gun-control advocates usually raise the opening clause about a well regulated militia, but that never is enough to blunt the plain wording at the heart of the amendment.

I propose an approach that plays to both arguments. Because the Constitution clearly says the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed, we ought to let people keep and bear arms. Period.

At the same time, I propose that we implement that part about a well regulated militia. The states let their militias disband and disappear a century or more ago. Maybe the Constitution doesn't require that our government organize militias, but it certainly warns us that our security is at risk without one. There is certainly no Constitutional barrier to re-establishing militias as an integral part of modern society.

So, how about requiring all US citizens, all of us, join a militia, be given regular firearms skills and safety training, and be assigned regular duty protecting the Republic against all threats, foreign and domestic? Militia duty might include a requirement to periodically bear guns, very visibly, in public places as a deterrent to those who might threaten our security, with a beneficial side effect of augmenting law enforcement as well.

Because many people might be unwilling to perform such duty, we could grant exemptions to any citizen who does not own a gun. After all, there would be little need for gun training if you neither own a gun nor ever intend to bear one.

This proposal addresses all the usual arguments. It doesn't infringe on the rights of Americans to keep and bear arms. It ensures that Americans are well trained in gun use and safety (at least those Americans who care to exercise their right to own guns). And it restores the Militia that our Founders warned us is necessary to the security of a free state. What's not to like?