Guns & Ammo Editor: ‘All Constitutional Rights Need Regulation, Even 2A’..?

Lets Talk Limits by Dick Metcalf of Guns Ammo December 2013
Let’s Talk Limits by Dick Metcalf of Guns Ammo December 2013

Washington DC – -(Ammoland.com)-  In the December issue of Guns & Ammo magazine, editor Dick Metcalf uses his “Backstop” column to argue that all constitutional rights need regulation, including the 2nd Amendment.

TheTruthAboutGuns.com has scanned and posted a copy (embedded below) of the column online. In it, Metcalf explains why he chose to address the regulation of constitutional rights:

“I bring this up because way too many gun owners still believe that any regulation of the right to keep and bear arms is an infringement. The fact is that all Constitutional rights are regulated, always have been, and need to be.”

Metcalf says he receives “bags of mail every year” from people complaining of the myriad regulations related to concealed carry permits. He says these readers “typically argue” that the 2nd Amendment “is all the authority they need” to keep and bear arms, to carry a gun with them where they go.

In response, Metcalf writes: “I [wonder] whether those same people believe that just anybody should be able to buy a vehicle and take it out on public roadways without any kind of driver’s training, test, or license.”

Metcalf misses the point. The 2nd Amendment protects a natural right; that’s why it is not to be infringed. Owning and operating a vehicle is not a natural right, so comparing it to gun ownership is like comparing the ability to own and operate an airplane with the rights to freedom of speech and religion.

This is an important point because our Founders’ central reason for creating the Bill of Rights was to hedge in a body of natural rights as off-limits to government regulation and interference.

The 2nd Amendment says, “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” Metcalf has seized on the words “well regulated,” taking them out of context to the detriment of “shall not be infringed.”

Let’s Talk Limits by Dick Metcalf of Guns Ammo December 2013


About AWR Hawkins:

AWR Hawkins writes for all the BIG sites, for Pajamas Media, for RedCounty.com, for Townhall.com and now AmmoLand Shooting Sports News.

His southern drawl is frequently heard discussing his take on current events on radio shows like America’s Morning News, the G. Gordon Liddy Show, the Ken Pittman Show, and the NRA’s Cam & Company, among others. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal (summer 2010), and he holds a PhD in military history from Texas Tech University.

If you have questions or comments, email him at [email protected]. You can find him on facebook at www.facebook.com/awr.hawkins.