NFOA Pres Answers NE State Senator's 2nd Amendment Questions

A number of the Nebraska Firearms Owners Association’s (NFOA) more than 6000 members have provided me with copies of your response to their concerns regarding LB451.  In your response to their concerns, you mention that you “have difficulty understanding” why someone would want to own firearms such as the AK-47, AR-15 and those manufactured by Uzi (Israel Weapon Industries).    

As the president of the NFOA, I thought I would offer you what I hope are a few helpful thoughts as you consider your position on LB451 and our Second Amendment rights as a whole.

First, you are absolutely correct.  The Second Amendment does not specify the type of weapons that can be kept or borne.  In fact, the Second Amendment does quite the opposite – it specifies that “the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed”.  (Emphasis added.)  Simply put, any limit on access to firearms “in common use at the time” has been determined by the U.S. Supreme Court to be an infringement of the people’s rights under the Second Amendment.  Numerous estimates suggest that the AR-15 is currently the most popular gun in the United States – with nearly four million of them in use at this time.

Second, although the Second Amendment has absolutely nothing to do with hunting, the firearms mentioned above are very rarely used for killing people as you suggested in your response to NFOA members’ concerns.  As a matter of fact, according to recent FBI crime statistics, historically, more murders are committed with hammers and clubs than with all types of rifles.  Of course, AR-15′s, AK-47′s and similar rifles are merely a sub-set of all rifles.  These modern sporting rifles are used on a daily basis for hunting, competitive shooting, and “plinking” with friends and family, yet almost never used for committing murder.

Third, although the AR-15 and other modern sporting rifles are rarely used to kill people they do make excellent home defense firearms.  An FBI study suggests that the AR-15 is an excellent home defense rifle due to its ballistics.  The AR-15 fires a relatively small bullet that quickly loses velocity once it strikes its target.  This small bullet is much less likely to penetrate walls or doors than a larger diameter bullet, like those fired from handguns.  Unlike Vice President Biden’s recent suggestion to fire a shotgun through a door (without positively identifying the target on the other side), responsible gun owners do not want rounds to penetrate walls or doors potentially striking unintended targets.  The AR-15 addresses this potential issue as well as any other modern firearm, making it one of the safest options for a home defense firearm.

Senator, I know you’re busy.  Please allow me to quickly summarize the three points, above, which I hope will help you in making policy decisions related to the Second Amendment.