by Michael Sanibel

Created on: May 30, 2008

The Right to Bear Arms - most of the time

You may have read about the New Hampshire high school student who wanted his yearbook picture to consist of him posing with his unloaded shotgun over his shoulder. This has fueled yet another debate about guns and gun control. I am one of the strongest advocates on this planet of the right to own guns and their responsible use by law-abiding citizens. That said, I am opposed to the idea of posing in a yearbook with a weapon, or most anything else for that matter. To be clear, I'm drawing a contrast between what the student may have a right to do, versus what makes common sense. Most of the people I know can clearly distinguish between the two.

When I and others worked on my high school yearbook, I can tell you that the thought never occurred to any of us to pose with a gun, a car, an animal, or a fruit tree for that matter. In a much simpler time for us all, we dressed nicely and posed in front of a background that the photographer, not us, selected. We weren't holding our pet cobras or our favorite water skis either; it was just us for all to see. At that time, if any one of us had even suggested posing with a gun, it never would have made it past the yearbook faculty advisor's office. That would have been the end of it no appeal to the Principal, the School Board, the local media, or the courthouse.

What has happened over the years is that many have confused someone's right to do something with what is commonly acceptable, civil, and appropriate under the circumstances. Now I'm sure the student would argue that it's not up to me to decide what is appropriate in this case, and I would agree with him. However I would argue that his right to own a gun does not give him unrestricted freedom to do anything he wants with it. Just as the First Amendment does not give someone the right to yell "Fire!" in a crowded theater, the Second Amendment does not give you the right to carry a firearm onto an airplane. Reasonable people can agree that reasonable limits can and should be placed on our rights for our mutual protection and our ability to exist as a civilized society.

So, what harm does it cause to pose in a photograph with an unloaded gun not in firing position? Surely, this is totally passive and not threatening after all, it's just a picture. If we take away a student's right to pose with a gun in his yearbook, aren't we stepping on the Bill of Rights and inviting the government to come and take away all of our guns? Apparently

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>