The 2nd Amendment was drafted at a time when the US lacked a standing army and needed a ready militia for times of crisis. It was never intended as a means for Americans to carry out what is in effect an ongoing civil war, with thousands of deaths a year. The gun lobby hides behind the 2nd Amendment and the NRA and makes a literal killing from selling high capacity, affordable and accurate weapons who's only real purpose is to kill other Americans.
One Nation Under The Gun: Thousands Of Gun Deaths Since Newtown
If you think Devin and the thousands of Americans who die every year aren't worth anything then keep supporting the fiction that the 2nd Amendment gives Americans freedom. They live in constant fear of each other and a few corporations get rich.
Also most of the guns used in the ongoing violence in Mexico come from the US.
Mexico Drug War: 70 Percent Of Guns Seized Originate In U.S.
This is absolutely full of half truths, untruths, and misconceptions.
Where to start; oh yeah, the Second Amendment. While what you say is true, every male US citizen age 17 is in the militia. That's right, today. Google "US CODE MILITIA" The US Code is federal law. The people are the militia, and the militia is the people. As well, the original intent was not only for defense of the nation, but also defense of self, and defense AGAINST the nation.......that is why it is "....the right of the PEOPLE to keep and bear arms", NOT the right of the state to raise militias. It is why it appears in the Bill of Rights, a guarantor of individual rights, not collective rights.
Okay, having cleared THAT up....let's jump to the defense of the NRA. The NRA is NOT a gun seller. Nor is it controlled by arms companies. LESS than 4% of the NRA's annual budget comes from direct corporate donations. The NRA is a CIVIL RIGHTS group, the tool of it's almost 5 million members. It does what its membership wants: defends, without compromise, the rights of the people of the United States as laid out in the second amendment.
Now....on to Mexican guns. There is absolutely no evidence that "most of the guns used in the ongoing violence in Mexico come from the US" The fact is the Mexican gov't ONLY sends the guns it suspects are American to BATF for tracking. There are plenty of sources for AK 47s (the cartel's weapon of choice) etc in South America and elsewhere.
Now. Check this out.
FBI — Expanded Homicide Data Table 8
Notice that you are TWICE as apt to be beaten to death with no weapon involved than you are to be murdered with a rifle. Rifles of ALL types amount to 1 in 25 of all gun murders, and only a fraction of THAT small number would be rifles of military caliber. Kinda makes the focus on AR 15s (the most popular rifle in the USA, with more than 3 million in circulation) kinda suspect, doesn't it??
And finally:
In 2011, guns were involved in 31,672 deaths in the USA, of which 19,392 were suicides, leaving 12,280 involuntary deaths. That includes accidents, homicide, police shootings, and self-defence. 8,533 were homicides.
Tobacco killed approximately 443,000 people in the USA in 2011. 49,000 of those were involuntary deaths from second hand smoke.
Tobacco is involved in FOUR times as many involuntary deaths than are firearms. That's right, you are four times more likely to die from second hand smoke than you are to be shot to death by accident or design by someone else.
And you are almost 6 times more apt to die from second hand smoke than to be murdered with a firearm.......
So...in the USA:
You are 14 times more apt to die from tobacco than from firearms.
Kinda puts it in perspective, doesn't it??
Even more so when you realize 40% of Americans have access to firearms (no. of households with guns) but only 20% smoke.
