Letter of the Week: Intended meaning of Second Amendment lost in U.S. today

Intended meaning of amendment lost in U.S. today

“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 Second Amendment has been prostituted so far beyond any rational meaning that the result is stupid, ludicrous and very dangerous.

So, it should seem OK for possession of a firearm or one to defend a home.

But that should be true only if the owner has passed an approved mental exam and a safety class in the use of the firearm.

Any further expansion toward military arms should be prohibited.

After all, we have full-time police, sheriffs, state highway patrol, national guard and military to meet all the provisions of the amendment.

The arms manufacturers should not be allowed to bribe, coerce, threaten or force lawmakers in any way to achieve their goals.

Wayne Wagner of Independence was raised on a farm north of Edwardsville, Kan. After high school, he was an over-the-road truck driver. He served in the Army from 1951 to 1953. Afterward, he went to work at the General Motors Leeds Assembly Plant in Kansas City. He graduated from Finley Engineering College in 1956 and then moved to California, where he worked in the state engineering office. He retired as an engineer in 1981 and moved to Independence. He and his wife, Barbara, have been married 26 years.

This story was originally published October 2, 2016 at 3:00 PM with the headline "Letter of the Week: Intended meaning of Second Amendment lost in U.S. today."