Well, Troll, I'm not in favor of outlawing guns. I do think, however, that folks who try to interpret the 2nd Amendment as being carte blanche to own as many guns as you can afford are not worried so much about civil liberties as they are about trying to keep the guns they own. Guess which key phrase of the second amendment is always left out of "quotations" of the amendment by the NRA?

I personally agree with the organized militia interpretation. But I see no reason why any law abiding group can't form their own militia, provided it meets the test of being well organized.

If it were up to me (and it isn't)...

I view gun ownership as a public safety issue as well as a civil liberty issue. Hence, I would require a safety test and license much like a driver's license. You can own a car without having a license to drive one in public -- and you can drive it on your own private property without a license. Unlike cars, however, guns can easily pass the threshold of public property (and kill in the process, even accidentally) and can be easily hidden, so they have to be treated a bit differently in the interest of public safety.

Take a safety course, pass the test, get the license, and then it's not any business of the government how many or what kinds of guns you own, excepting those models which are clearly a public safety hazard. (Fully automatic machines guns come to mind.) A court can revoke your license if you are convicted of a violent crime, which is a clear example of being in the public interest. Otherwise... I gotta side with the concept that it's just not a power that the government should hold in a free society to relatively arbitrarily decide who can anc cannot own a gun of whatever type.

Most liberals will disagree with me, but I daresay most responsible gun owners would be delighted with the safety license requirement, because it seems like they take all the flack everytime some idiot leaves a gun out where his 10 year old can get to it.

But to me, there's no justification for denying the priviledge of gun ownership, save that which is clearly and explicitly in the public interest.

(And I'm in favor of a non-progressive, non-regressive, flat tax for everyone above the poverty level for ANY kind of income with no deductions, but that's another philosophical discussion.)