State Reps. Wants to Force People to Buy Guns ... Because of Health Care Law

In the best political stunt we've seen in some time, five South Dakota state representatives have introduced a bill requiring residents over 21 to purchase guns. (They'd get to pick one "suitable to their temperament" and preference.) Why? To make a point about the individual mandate:

Rep. Hal Wick, R-Sioux Falls, is sponsoring the bill and knows it will be killed. But he said he is introducing it to prove a point that the federal health care reform mandate passed last year is unconstitutional.

"Do I or the other cosponsors believe that the State of South Dakota can require citizens to buy firearms? Of course not. But at the same time, we do not believe the federal government can order every citizen to buy health insurance," he said.

Read the full story at the Argus Leader.

This article available online at:

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/02/state-reps-wants-to-force-people-to-buy-guns-because-of-health-care-law/70614/