Second Amendment

            The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday is the Second Amendment or the right to keep and bear arms. Liberals and opponents keep trying to chip away at the Second Amendment. They argue that the laws are too soft or that the amendment is totally outdated. They most likely do not like the results of a recent government experiment.

            It seems that Congress wanted to know how well the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was enforcing federal gun laws. According to The Blaze, the Government Accountability Office sent out investigators “to determine if private online sellers sold firearms to people who are legally barred from purchasing or possessing them. The results are undeniable.”

            The investigators tried 72 times to purchase guns online after telling the sellers that they were not qualified to legally purchase a firearm. Each time they failed to get a gun.

“Tests … demonstrated that private sellers GAO contacted on gun forums and other classified ads were unwilling to sell a firearm to an individual who appeared to be prohibited from possessing a firearm.” …

In 56 cases, the seller ultimately refused to ship the firearm or terminated the transaction because the undercover agent admitted they were unable to legally purchase or possess a firearm. In five other cases, the agents’ online accounts were frozen, preventing them from even accessing a forum area to browse firearms for sale. The remaining 11 attempts turned out to be scams.

            The undercover agents made each attempt on the “surface web” (regular internet). They also tried to purchase weapons on the “dark web” (where illegal activity happens and which requires a special browser). They were successful two out of the seven attempts on the dark web. “They were able to buy an AR-15 with an `obliterated’ serial number and an Uzi that was advertised as fully automatic.”

            So, opponents of the Second Amendment were proven wrong. It is not easy to purchase firearms on the Internet, and the current gun laws appear to be doing their job. There is no need for more gun control!