"All able bodied citizens between 17 & 40 except those few public officials who specifically exempted by statute. The term well regulated in the time the Bill of Rights was written was understood to mean that you were proficient in the manual of arms and basic marksmanship."
Right so, everybody has to give up their guns at age 41? And what about the proficiency - which frankly I think would be a good idea. Who tests proficiency? I have a certificate from the state of Tennessee (somewhere) showing I've been through a basic course on Hunter Safety, which included gun safety and I had to load and fire a gun 5 times to pass (thankfully nothing on marksmanship because I didn't do very well).
And my argument about car registration isn't a straw man, because it isn't just about taxes. If I use my car irresponsibly (speeding, hit someone or something) my registration is how they track me down to make sure I'm held responsible for my actions.
Back to my original point, I'm in favor of more control over guns and gun ownership (to what extent, I will tell you honestly I don't know), but I'm not in favor of taking everybody's guns away. I currently live in the UK, where I think gun control has gone far too far - it would be quite difficult (but not impossible) for me to legally have a gun and I could not legally have a hand gun.
I'm certainly not in favor of dismantling the Bill of Rights, but the 2nd amendment to me isn't very clear. And just like Tom DeLay says - I'm not a bad person for wanting a more balanced approach to gun control.
Then we must agree to disagree. I have no desire to be a peasant rather than a citizen . If you are happy trusting someone else being in charge of your safety who will suffer ZERO penalties for failing to protect you from the criminals in society that is your choice. I choose to do something else.
Why?
This country already has numerous laws on the books which prohibit irresponsible use of a firearm.
More control is the catch phrase of a totalitarian.
What America needs is more personal responsibility and a willingness to harshly adjudicate those who fail to abide by our current standards.