Right to Vote-Right to Bear Arms

The other  day, one piece of mail came that intrigued me, especially in light of the efforts of states like Pennsylvania and Florida, and others to lay down new laws to prevent voter fraud in their repsctive states, thus requiring proof of identity and citizenship of all those who intend to vote.

The piece of mail was an invitation to me to join the NRA (National Rifle Association.) Perhaps my catalog subscription to Sportsman's Guide put me on their radar. The flyer said  this is my "Final Notice" that time is running out unless I act now " (my) second amendment rights are certain to be dismantled and destroyed." (Underlining was in the text.) They ask me to write a check to preserve my second amendment rights. "Because your firearm freedoms and your hunting and shooting traditions are under attack.

This comes after a crazy shooting in Aurora, CO, and I am writing this after another near Milwaukee. WI.

And then comes a new effort to make VOTING more difficult in Ohio, on top of efforts towards establishment of new ID requirements in Pennsylvania, and to purge the rolls of phony voters in Florida. Voting is as much of a right as bearing arms. And there are more voters than NRA members. It has not produced any harm to anyone, unless you count assassinations of some of our leaders down through history. The amount of voter frauds is negligible in the opinion of almost all those who monitor the elections in this country. And this is the right that is being targeted by legislators in the various states. ( I wonder how many legislators in the states actually said they were going to change the election laws when they were campaigning.) Laws are being proposed to limit this right which is indeed being destroyed and dismantled by state governments throughout our land.

And guns? Almost every state has a provision in its State constitution similar to the second amendment. Most states do not require a permit to purchase  gun. Most states do not require registration of a gun. Most states do not require a license for a gun. Only a few states have banned assault weapons. It is hard to believe that the second amendment is under assault and the right to vote is not.

I believe this strange mix up of values comes down to one very simple thing. Power versus the powerless. Guns are loud, they scare people, and they hurt. Votes, not so loud all the time, not so scary, not so hurtful. Maybe it is not power... perhaps bullying is a better word.