This is a converstaion I am having with a friend on Facebook. A real friend not a person who just is on my list. The other person in this discussion is a Navy Officer I served with for 2 years in the same department.

Friend's original post.
Okay, time to lose some facebook friends again. At long last, can we not have meaningful gun control in this country? Buying an automatic weapon in this country is as easy as going through a drive-through at McDonalds. You can have your shotguns and home protection handguns, but weapons designed for mass carnage should be outlawed. I know...there will always be a black market for people that want to get these guns illegally, but these crazies that commit these acts are not thugs that deal in these shady, illegal enterprises. They are simply disturbed people that just wake up one day and decide to unleash fury. Their efforts should at least be hampered by some reasonable obstacles that would limit accessibility.

If we can't manage crazy, then we should at least manage what crazy has available to them.
My first response.
Considering we both took an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, I am suprised to read this. The Second Amendmant is worded, purposely, to remind people of the right to bear arms with which they can defend themselves from enemies and from the Government, if that became necessary. In order to do this, you need the same kind of weapons as will be carried by those who will be opposing you.
Friend's reply.
Come on (my name removed), I'm taken aback by your comment. I hardly see where advocating gun control is in any way in opposition to the Constitution. Does the right to bear arms mean that we should all have access all manner of arms? Where do we draw the line...hand grenades? I respect you too much to argue openly about this and I can assure you that no one is more aware of my oath and what it means than me.
My second response.
The word "infringed" in the Second Ammendment means to not encroach. To welcome or advocate gun control is to encroach on the right of self-preservation, which usurps the Second Ammendment. It is akin to what we are doing with "hate speech" laws in taking away our right to free speech. It is important to remember that these rights that the Constitution and Bill of Rights put in words did not grant these rights to us, but were a formal aknowledgement of rights given to every person. So, in advocating for gun control people are advocating the removal of a right that is not theirs to remove.