Molly Ivins on Gun Control [View all]

[SunSeeker]

From her 1993 essay "Taking a Stab at Our Infatuation with Guns" (The Seattle Times, March 15, 1993), she begins by saying:

Let me start this discussion by pointing out that I am not anti-gun. I'm pro-knife. Consider the merits of the knife. In the first place, you have catch up with someone in order to stab him. A general substitution of knives for guns would promote physical fitness. We'd turn into a whole nation of great runners. Plus, knives don't ricochet. And people are seldom killed while cleaning their knives. As a civil libertarian, I of course support the Second Amendment. And I believe it means exactly what it says: "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." Fourteen-year-old boys are not part of a well-regulated militia. Members of wacky religious cults are not part of a well-regulated militia. Permitting unregulated citizens to have guns is destroying the security of this free state. I am intrigued by the arguments of those who claim to follow the judicial doctrine of original intent. How do they know it was the dearest wish of Thomas Jefferson's heart that teen-age drug dealers should cruise the cities of this nation perforating their fellow citizens with assault rifles? Channelling?

http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19930315&slug=1690536

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This facebook post came to mind when I read Molly's riff on how "permitting unregulated citizens to have guns is destroying the security of this free state":