[HawaiianGecko]

[The Constitution preserves] the advantage of being armed which Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation...(where) the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.
---James Madison, The Federalist Papers, No. 46.

You're not telling me anything new. Gunsmiths in my family date to the early 19th century and many of us keep dealership licenses current. A couple of shooting ranges bear my family name and are owned by family. I'm a proponent of gun ownership.  That said, how does your post above square with Iraq, or for that matter a gun infested barrio in East LA?

The second amendment does not prohibit felons or certified lunatics from gun ownership. Therefore, it seems sensible that certain prohibitions or fine tuning may be a wise thing.

[activationproducts]

A friend of mine spent a year in Iraq as a reservist doing convoy security. He said that Iraqis don't really see themselves as Iraqis but rather, Shia, Sunni, Kurd, etc. Hence the notion of national identity in Iraq is nothing like it is here in the US.

I can own as many guns as I want as can my law abiding neigbor with whom I may deeply dislike and constantly disagree with. The difference is that in our society we strive to extend equal right to all law abiding citizens and have developed non-violent mechanisms to resolve conficts. Iraqis do not enjoy the benefits of such a society.

In a society in flux such as Iraq stabilization is going to be difficult and bloody. In our society we have already passed that point and can recognize the right of individuals to keep and bear arms without being subjected to widespread firefights.

[Dead Corpse]

The second amendment does not prohibit felons or certified lunatics from gun ownership.

There is a process already in place for incarcerating or committing those you mention. No further gun laws are necessary and are only aimed at making legal arms ownership more difficult.

[Boston Blackie]

The second amendment does not prohibit felons or certified lunatics from gun ownership. Therefore, it seems sensible that certain prohibitions or fine tuning may be a wise thing.

Fine tuning might be a wise thing but in too many states that has turned out to mean that criminals have guns and honest citizens are denied access to same.