Letter: Militia matters

In his letter to the editor published March 15, Gene Turner incorrectly states that 10 USC 311 defines the Second Amendment “with the militia divided into two separate but, more importantly, equal groups.”

In fact, the code (”Militia: composition and classes”) states that “the classes of the militia are ... (1) the organized militia which consists of the National Guard and the Naval Militia; and (2) the unorganized militia, which consists of the members of the militia who are not members of [those groups].”

There is no reference to any equality between the two classes.

The Second Amendment states, “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.”

Notwithstanding the June 2008 Supreme Court decision related to an individual’s right to keep and bear arms, and contrary to Mr. Turner’s assertion, there is nothing in the Second Amendment which might preclude a government-authorized ban on a specific type of weapon like the AR-15.

The time for our country to recognize that limits must be placed on private ownership of specific gun types is long overdue.

This story was originally published March 26, 2018 at 3:28 PM with the headline "Letter: Militia matters."