Local Opinion: Old West had tougher gun laws than we do

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.” There are those who consider this amendment absolute in its regard for the “rightful” possession of a weapon; however, there are those who believe differently.

A brief review of the history of the Constitution would reveal that the first 10 amendments to the Constitution, also known as the Bill of Rights, were written as a restriction on the federal government. The people who created this document wanted to prevent a central government from acting like a monarchy. The original intent was to reserve certain powers to the states. Thus, we have the Tenth Amendment, which states: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

There have been arguments that to restrict any gun possession is a slippery slope to losing our Second Amendment rights. But the Second Amendment does not define a numerical value to arms as to how many weapons a person may own, meaning one or two guns can be considered to fulfill this qualification. Nor does it overtly allow or restrict specific weaponry. And it definitely was not given any consideration to military-style weapons of war (since our government at the time was incapable of supplying weapons). And at a point in history, concealed weapons weren’t even allowed in Southern states.

We should give consideration to gun restrictions in American history when discussing going forward with legitimate gun violence legislation. And for many, the Old West is a beginning reference point. People should do more reading research about this. They would find the Old West had stricter gun laws than we have today.

Two examples:

First, Dodge City during the time of Bat Masterson had a restrictive gun law that Masterson dutifully enforced.

Second, there is Arizona’s famous Tombstone, which had a very restrictive policy about having a gun within the boundary of the town. So much so, that our famous heroes, the Earp brothers with their friend Doc Holliday confronted Billy Claiborne, the Clanton brothers, and the McLaury brothers in a gun fight on Fremont Avenue (we now call the OK Corral) in Tombstone. Needless to say, our heroes dispatched those troublesome gun rights advocates with effectiveness, maintaining Tombstone’s gun restriction laws.

Note that neither of these events caused any person’s loss of their Second Amendment rights.

Other historical events we might consider are: The Thompson submachine gun, first banned in 1937, then outlawed in 1986, did not cause any cry related to any loss of gun rights.

We had a 10-year federal ban on assault weapons. Yet, no one during that time complained of losing access to their weapons.

Ronald Reagan’s Brady Bill in 1993. Although Reagan did not sign the Brady Bill, his strong endorsement of it guaranteed its passage. No one lost gun rights.

However, during the latest 10 years, we have seen a loosening of gun laws with a corresponding increase of the loss of lives of our children. This must end! But it won’t. Not because of politicians, but because of us.

We know who is blocking reasonable gun violence legislation, but we won’t vote these people out of office. There are conservatives who understand that a child’s life is more important than a temporary policy. We need to stand together, and send a message to all those who have allowed our children to die. The message is, if you are not willing to save the lives of our children, then we do not need you in Washington.