A comment response I posted on the blog. It could use some more fleshing out, links to support, etc. but I think I captured what I feel. Apologies for the verbosity.

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I appreciate your viewpoint, but I think you have a simplified idea of the context and history surrounding efforts at gun control legislation.

The Second Amendment reads: "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."

Therefore, I have no problem with people owning as many weapons as they need...in the context of a well-regulated militia. Unfortunately, the Second Amendment has, over a long period of time, been co-opted and transformed from "a well-regulated militia" to "everyone should be able to own an assault rifle". This is, by no coincidence, backed by the NRA, who long ago became less about the rights of gun owners and more about the interests of gun manufacturers. (can't blame them; it's where the money is.) I don't see the type of gun control proposed here as eroding the Second Amendment in any way; however, supporters see any legislation that doesn't make it easier to get any gun as eroding the amendment. It has become a symbol, rather than people considering it in its context. Even strict interpreters of the constitution should find it hard to ignore the phrase "well-regulated militia". And it's not an answer to say "oh, in today's context that would totally mean any citizen who wants a gun."

Outside this context, I see guns for hunting as fine and guns for personal protection as fine, because I think we can agree that removing those would impede upon safety and liberty. However, outside of the context of a well-regulated militia, I fail to see a scenario where a citizen would need an assault-class weapon designed for a theater of war, even in a distressing scenario of personal attack.

Also, background checks are not an invasion of privacy, though that's a convenient claim to make. Whenever someone could impact the lives of others (e.g. teachers, government workers with sensitive information), they are required to undergo a background check. I see no reason to oppose background checks anytime someone is going to own something that could end my life and the main purpose of which is to inflict deadly harm. 89% of Americans agree with me on that, including the majority of both the GOP and the NRA's member base. And yet, the legislation was defeated -- not by a vote, but by the inability to break a standard filibuster practice that now routinely requires 60 votes for a law to pass.

The issue of privacy as a civil liberty and bearing arms as a civil liberty are completely separate amendments, and need to be considered in their separate contexts. The issue of privacy could have been applicable, if the gun legislation contained a national gun registry. There's a legitimate argument to be made there, and it would have made me slightly squeamish too. However, the law specifically did not include such a registry and would not lead to one; even John McCain and several other senators (with A ratings from the NRA) said as much. A misinformation campaign was spread to poison the bill based on fear, and it got the minority riled up, and was just enough to cower the senate.

I do think that an actual hypocrisy exists in this debate, but from a slightly different perspective -- time and time again, the same groups that claim they need guns to protect against the government, also rally to stop the military's budget from being cut in the slightest, claiming it endangers our security (despite the fact that our military budget outpaces the closest 10+ nations combined). The same folks who envision needing a small arsenal to protect themselves against the government are the same people who are totally OK with drones, seemingly without thought that those are the same weapons that would be used by a hostile government against them. Thus, the fantasy lives on -- folks stockpile weapons in a fantasy to play the hero against the tyrant, and at the same time support all the tools of supposed said tyrant. These are not the majority of gun owners, but they number a large portion of those who rally around the ownership of assault and military style weapons for use by civilians.

I understand the inclination to make these sorts of arguments; it's easier to say "it's everyone's fault, really" -- than to get down into it and be drawn in the sometimes vile world of partisan politics. I've been to a shooting range, and I don't demonize those who desire to own guns. But at some point, a reality has to become clear -- people are dying because we're doing nothing. We can argue about what should be done, but when near-universal agreement exists on something as simple as a watered-down background check, and it still can't pass congress, we've gone a little too far my taste.