Reading a new Business Week article on the Glock: America’s Gun, and in light of the recent tragedy with congressman Giffords, I believe that America needs a change in its gun laws and interpretation of the Second Amendment to the Constitution, which reads:
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.
Gun-related deaths in America were measured in 1994 per 100,000 people at 14.24, while in Finland just 6.46, Switzerland 5.31, and Canada at nearly three times lower, at just 4.31. There are two lessons we as Americans can learn from these countries:
- Mandatory military service provides the correct discipline and training prior to owning a gun.
- Gun-control laws, requiring exams, permits, certification, and proper mental health, protect the public
I prose we amend the constitution to require two years of military service on the age of majority, require that all gun-owners have completed said service, and finally require that gun owners conduct a yearly assessment of their mental competence and skill with firearms. Besides reducing our rate of gun-related deaths, these measures would provide the United States of America with a trained proper militia, finally delivering an alternative to ever-increasing military spending.