Second Amendment seesaw.(EXERCISING THE RIGHT)

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The May 6 Racine County Journal-Times, reporting on a recent attack by four teenaged assailants on a 42-year-old victim, pointed out the unintended consequences of having too many gun-control laws on the books. It has gotten to the point that the police don't even know which laws to enforce because the laws conflict with each other. Involved in this instance are several state statutes, the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and positions on the right to carry firearms as explained by State Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen.

When an unidentified Racine, Wisconsin, man was knocked down by the four teens while riding his bike on May 3, he was certain they intended to rob him and to take his bike and other possessions. Fearing for his safety, and unaware that he was in a gun-free school zone, he grabbed his gun, which was carried in plain sight, ah act legal in Wisconsin and a right confirmed recently by the state attorney general of Wisconsin regarding open carrying of firearms in the state.

Pointing the gun skyward, the besieged man yelled, "Gun!" and succeeded in repelling the attack. Unfortunately, he also inadvertently violated the laws regarding schools and a 1,000-foot gun-free zone around them. Ironically, the law pertaining to the gun-free zone, which the man violated trying to save himself, was intended to protect teens, the ...