> Actually, the Second Ammendment says :
> "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."
> 
> It doesn't say that everyone run around waving guns.

Tell that to the NRA :)
See http://www.nraila.org/Faqs.asp?FormMode=Call&LinkType=Section&Section=17
for their view of the second amendment. Obviously, the NRA being the American
firearms lobby, their view is far from being impartial.

But while the Second Amendment is quite controversial, the wording in its
second half isn't that difficult to understand. The people have a
constitutional right to keep and bear (carry) guns. The government cannot
take away that right without amending the constitution (just like prohibiting
Alcohol required an amendment (the 18th)). Whether the right to carry arms
includes "running around and waving them" or not, I don't know :) Also,
what exactly the first part of the amendment means is debatable - how exactly
the government is allowed to "regulate" the use of firearms (for example,
as far as I know American law usually forbids carrying *concealed* weapons
by civilians, or carrying automatic weapons) or what do militias have
anything to do with it (supposedly this part is a relic from the time when
having a federal army was considered a Bad Thing).

Note that all of this is about keeping and carrying guns - not about using
them. Nowhere does it say people are allowed to actually shoot guns...

-- 
Nadav Har'El                        |      Tuesday, Sep 10 2002, 4 Tishri 5763


> Interestingly, carrying weapons openly is often allowed in the US,
> which leads to a curious situation where carrying a pistol under your
> jacket is forbidden, but walking around with a rifle is perfectly
> legal.

It does make some sense. If you start a bar brawl with a guy, and suddenly
he takes out a gun from under his shirt and shoots you, all hell is going
to break loose. But if that guy was carrying his weapon *in the open*, you
wouldn't pick a fight with him in the first place, would you?

In many cases you hear about people (especially young people) killing each
other in fights with knives or guns, one side did not know in advance that
the other side was "packing". They "wanted" an honest fair fight, and got
killed.
Anyway, making carrying conceiled weapons illegal is also a very convenient
technicality for which to arrest criminals you can't pin an actual crime on.

-- 
Nadav Har'El                        |      Tuesday, Sep 10 2002, 4 Tishri 5763