unfortunately, their rulings exert a baleful influence all the way down.
the employment of the militia justification gives room for manouevre for a supreme court that so chooses.
the second amendment is obviously framed within an antique setting that has been superceded by time. the social purposes of a militia have been entirely subsumed. the need for law and order is provided by a police force. the necessity of an army, a navy and an air force is provided by the department of defense. the borders are patrolled by customs people.
nor would a popular militia be capable of standing against a government determined to defeat it. what use is an automatic weapon against a missile? the us army does not fight its foes face to face.
the second amendment defines a right that was made obsolete by the miseries of the civil war. folks like martin luther king have shown a more peaceful method of producing change in a democracy.
guns serve no larger communal purpose. their only remaining uses are for individual benefit - for self-defence and for recreation.
so use technology to limit the radius of their activity to specific locations which provide those benefits - while excluding the harms these weapons have wrought for so long.
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