By Gregory Kielma
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November 25, 2024
Could someone please show me the "right to a 30-shot clip" section of the Second Amendment to the Bill of Rights? Gregg Kielma and a Fellow Blogger There are a few points that need to be addressed here. And I would like to point that it’s amazing that you think that YOU know better and your opinions on the standard 30 round magazine should override The Constitution, The Bill of Rights, the Federal Courts, and hundreds of years of history. 1) Thank you for demonstrating your ignorance and ineptitude. You have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that you know absolutely nothing about firearms. How did you do this? It was your use of the word “clip” when addressing rifle magazines. They are NOT interchangeable. Especially when discussing 30 round mags. The clip is a device that helps you to load the magazine faster and with more precision. The magazine is a device that stores and loads ammunition into a repeating firearm. The AR15, for example, is a repeating firearm. While it only fires one round per pull of the trigger, cycling is done automatically. Hence the term “semi-automatic”. When a round is fired, the rifle automatically ejects the spent casing as the BCG slides backwards. When the spent casing is ejected, the spring inside the magazine pushes the next round upwards, and the BCG slides forward into position and is ready to fire. While it ejects and loads the next round automatically, it still only fires one round per pull of the trigger. The clip and the magazine are two entirely separate, entirely different. 2) 30 round magazines are NOT “high capacity”. The fact that YOU think it’s too much doesn’t really mean much of anything. The 30-round magazine is the standard capacity for the AR15. Your opinions on the matter are irrelevant. You aren’t owed an explanation. You aren’t owed anything, in fact, where it concerns others exercising their rights. Furthermore, you do not, in any way, shape, or form, have the right to tell others what they do and don’t “need” in relation to their firearms and how they choose to exercise their 2nd amendment rights. Your rights do not give you the right to infringe on the rights of others. You’re not entitled to a damned thing. 3) Where 30 round magazines come into play concerning the 2nd amendment. You seem to be forgetting the intention behind the 2nd. The point is ensuring that the people retain their power in the face of a federal government. Protecting themselves, their families, their properties, their rights, and everything this nation stands for, as in a final line of defense against tyranny and invaders. The ability to defend against criminals and oppression. In the 2008 case District of Columbia v. Heller, the Supreme Court held that the "Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within and without the home." The militia clause is just as relevant today as it was back then. But here is the most important part. The fact that we have a standing army does not negate the importance of the 2nd amendment. It’s the protections afforded through the 2nd amendment that ensure that at the end of the day when all else has failed, our people retain the ability to prevent and defend against tyrannical oppression. Like I said, it’s the 2nd amendment that ensures the people have a check against the federal government - that the power is balanced in such a way that the power remains with us. And even then, our founders didn’t take it too far. It’s why we are a Constitutional Republic, not a straight democracy. Because they protected our rights not just from the possibility of tyranny and oppression, but also protected our rights from mob rule. They ensured that a majority is irrelevant when it concerns our rights - not even a majority has the power to strip away and infringe upon a minority. They ensured that it was understood that absolutely NOTHING is more important than the individual’s rights. And the 30-round magazine? It’s protected by the 2nd amendment through the intent of the amendment. Even California’s own Federal 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stuck down the state’s ban on magazines more than 10 rounds - because it was a blatant violation of the 2nd amendment. The panel of judges found that such firearm magazines are protected arms under the Second Amendment and are not "unusual arms" that would fall outside its scope. Like I already pointed out? They aren’t “high capacity” magazines. The 30-round magazine is the standard magazine for the AR15 and other similar sport rifle platforms. I could understand calling a 30-round magazine “high capacity” in relation to it being a 30-round mag for a 9mm pistol - sure. But for rifles? That’s not true at all - nor is it unusual. Many tube-fed rifles hold between 22 and 30 rounds. Bans against the standard capacity 30 round magazine criminalizes the possession of half of all magazines in America today. It makes unlawful magazines that are commonly used even in handguns by law-abiding citizens for self-defense! A ban on the standard 30 round AR15 magazine substantially burdens the core right of self-defense guaranteed to the people under the Second Amendment - not to mention the people’s ability to stand against tyranny and oppression. 4) The AR15 is protected by the Constitution. It’s literally the MOST popularly owned rifle in America today. 10s of millions of these firearms are owned by the people. The right to keep and bear arms? It’s a right, regardless of the individual’s intention where it concerns the militia. The militia? It’s the people of the United States as a whole. The people, the unorganized militia consisting of the people of the United States as a whole? The weapons brought to bear are personally owned weapons. This is just as true today as it was when the people got together and revolted against the British during the Revolutionary War. The Supreme Court has been clear on the matter. District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570, 624-25, 627-28 (2008). Heller’s reasoning is sound and persuasive and begins with the Second Amendment’s text: “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.” The Supreme Court ruled that the “prefatory clause,” concerning a Militia and the security of a free State, simply reflects the historical justification for the amendment, but does not modify the “operative clause” concerning the right to keep and bear Arms. As to the operative clause, the Supreme Court found it “guarantee[s] the individual right to possess and carry weapons in common use for lawful purposes like self-defense.” Guess what - the AR15, and its standard 30- round magazine are in common use today. And this is on top of the fact that the unorganized militia still exists to this day as the whole body of the people. The AR15 platform is protected. The rifle is the most owned by the people. The rifle is the most popular rifle in the nation today. Estimates put the number of AR15s owned by private citizens over 16 million as of 2018. The modern sporting rifle (including the AR15 platform) is the most common and popular for a reason. Since our country’s founding, civilian owned sporting rifles evolved alongside military platforms. The AR15 isn’t unusual in this instance for that. No, instead, the AR15 is just the next in line following that tradition. They are my favorite because they are good rifles. Their accuracy, reliability, ruggedness, and versatility serve every facet of firearm ownership. Everything from sport and target shooting, self-defense, hunting, competition, and even hobbyists are served through the AR15. The AR15 is a true “all-weather” platform. These weapons have been popular, and in circulation, since the 1960s. Absolutely NOTHING is more important than the rights of the people. Attempts to ban the AR15, attempts to ban its standard capacity 30 round magazine… these things are unconstitutional. Your ignorance and fear? Those aren’t justifications for infringing on the rights of 330 million US citizens. Your rights don’t give you the right to infringe on the rights of others, and you don’t HAVE a right to “not be afraid”. Your fear is your problem, it’s a personal problem - it’s not OUR problem. Your rights don’t give you the right to tell others how they will, or won’t, exercise their rights. And you certainly don’t have any right to determine other people’s “needs.” And we don’t have to provide you with any sort of justification. It’s my right. That’s all the justification I, and every other AR15 owner, will EVER need.