Unnecessary, illegal

I appreciate the Second Amendment supporters’ desire to try and build more support for their gun ownership rights. However, their effort to get ordinances and resolutions passed in county quorum courts is unnecessary and even illegal. Gun ownership, with a specific caveat, is enshrined in the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. The Arkansas Constitution in Article 2, Section 5, also enshrines citizens’ right to bear arms for common defense.

Why do these supporters believe additional local legislation is necessary? Are they afraid that someone will notice and take action on that second clause in the Second Amendment? If so, they should immediately shift their focus to organizing the “well regulated militia” specified. As it is today, they ignore that clause because it means they must belong to an organization that trains citizens for self-defense in a well-organized and repetitive manner. They apparently believe the U.S. is still the “Wild West.”

The Arkansas Constitution contains a specific provision that limits the powers of counties to only those delegated by the state. The state has never granted counties any power to regulate rights enumerated in Article 2 of the state Constitution. The state has empowered counties with maintaining law and order through the sheriff and constables.

If the defenders of the Second Amendment are worried about abridgment of the right of gun ownership by ordinary citizens, they need to get busy organizing and training. And the NRA is not a militia; it is just another lobby of the hunting community.

ROBERT ANDERSON

Centerton