My idea is that if you purchase a handgun or any semiautomatic rifle, you’re a member of the militia and must train and equip yourself as proscribed by Congress. That gets us standards for gun ownership, universal background checks, waiting periods, age limits, and safe storage.
I always wondered about this. An attorney once told me that the late unlamented Scalia's opinion dismissed the "well regulated militia" as mere constitutional throat clearing. Without reforming the court, how do we get around that?
Very glad to see this idea from an informed commentator. I thought I might be crazy. It's more clear to me than when I wrote it, though, that nothing of the kind will happen before the Supreme Court faces its reckoning, whatever form that takes.
This seems win-win in that either it works or it forces the SC to further reveal how heavily its thumb is on the scale. Curious about the potential for claims of religious exemption on pacifist grounds (both sincere and bad-faith)?
This is a great idea!