The Second Amendment -- Guns and Hunters

The story "The Elusive Hunter" was actually published a couple of years ago by Newsweek, but it is still worth reading because it so clearly describes all the good things about hunting ... boys learning responsibilities, fathers and grandfathers with their sons, sportsmanship.

There is, of course, much controversy about gun ownership, perhaps best described by how people in cities are known to worry about street warfare while people in more rural regions of our country believe guns are all about sportsmanship and safety. The "Hunter" story reminded me of one time when I was in Montana visiting a ranching family there. Walking across the dining room floor, I almost tripped over the head of a bear, still firmly part of what had become a huge furry bear rug, of course. When one of the family started telling me how they came to own the bear rug, my awkwardness disappeared. The family story, of course, was about how the (gigantic) bear had been tearing off the shutters covering one of their house's windows, when the oldest son shot the bear.

Hunting ... safety ... street warfare. Isn't it funny how both sides of the rural v. urban viewpoints about guns meet in the middle about safety?

A few days ago the Supreme Court tackled this same subject. As described in the Kansas City Star, the "Supreme Court Ruling Still Allows Reasonable Restrictions" on guns.

“Like most rights, the Second Amendment is not unlimited,” Justice Antonin Scalia wrote in his lead opinion. “It is not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose.”

Reacting to the ruling, Ray Schoenake, President of the American Hunters and Shooters Association had this view:

"On behalf of our many thousands of members, we applaud this decision, which is critically important for all of us who believe in gun rights. This balanced, thoughtful approach to the Second Amendment is shared by an overwhelming majority of the nation's 80 million gun owners, including AHSA's members. The Supreme Court has soundly rejected the extreme views of the N.R.A., which espouse unlimited access to any weapon. "

We agree.