[Targan]

Sorry, I wasn't very clear in my last post. I'm not suggesting taking handguns and rifles out of the hands of the American people, that's clearly not practical at this point. I was focussing on your suggestion that civilians be allowed to own any weapons and vehicles that the US military has. It was the thought of fully operational AFVs, grenades, RPGs and man-portable missiles in the hands of the general populace that I referred to as novel.

As for the second amendment, wasn't there a part about the right to bear arms for those involved with a "well regulated militia"? Private ownership of assault rifles by people who are not currently, and never have been, part of the military or police forces falls outside that wording doesn't it? That seems to be ignored or forgotten by the majority of those promoting private firearm ownership. Of course I'm not an American. Maybe there have been further amendments to that wording that I'm not aware of.

To be clear, I'd personally like to legally own handguns and military-style rifles. But I've been part of the military and have been trained to handle firearms, as have you. The thought of a bunch of handguns, assault rifles and ammo being kept in a house where a highly disturbed, introverted young man (whose own family had serious concerns about him) can easily get his hands on them just blows my mind.