Do away with the 2nd amendment
By: dgun
December 14th, 2012
11:22 am
I've always defended the right to bear arms. My defense has been along the lines that the constitution gives citizens the right to own a weapon. In the DC Handgun case, for example, I was in complete agreement with the majority opinion. The language of the second amendment is the language of the second amendment and the meaning is very clear.
After the killings today at a Connecticut Elementary School, I no longer think the issue should be the interpretation of the second amendment. Rather, the question we should be asking now is should citizens have a right to own a weapon.
Owning and carrying a firearm should be a privilege, not a right. An individual should be forced to meet a fairly high set of criteria before being allowed to own and carry a weapon, and such criteria should include a mental health screening.
I've been around on political forums long enough to know all the arguments for and against gun control. My opinion has always been of a moderating tone, an attempt to bridge the great divide between the two extremes in order to arrive at some reasonable middle ground. Not anymore. I've had enough.
Let's amend the constitution and eliminate the 2nd amendment.
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278 comments on "Do away with the 2nd amendment"
December 14, 2012 at 11:41 am
OK, I'll entertain this from your perspective for a moment, assuming that repealing the Second Amendment would ever be possible.
What would that accomplish?
Bear ye in mind, the guns that were used today were obtained illegally, they were possessed illegally, they were illegally brought onto school grounds, all before they were illegally used to kill people.
So, if we abolish the Second Amendment, what do you think that will accomplish?
December 14, 2012 at 11:54 am
If you *really* wanted to stop actions such as this shooting today (and hey, if we're gonna play political football...) then why not make it illegal to kill innocents?
What? There's a law already for that? But why didn't it stop this guy?
I'll wait for an answer.
December 14, 2012 at 12:11 pm
I'll wait for an answer.
I've heard all of these arguments thousands of times. You offer nothing new or compelling.
Less weapons among the populace will mean less of these mass shootings. Argue with that all you want but you'll be arguing with yourself.
Edit:
Also, every time one of these massacres happen we say "now is not the time to talk about gun control".
I disagree. Now is the time. NOW.
by the way, I'm a father of three children, 2 still in elementary school. Which may mean that I'm not exactly objective at the moment. But I really don't care.
December 14, 2012 at 12:28 pm
December 14, 2012 at 12:29 pm
Put the resources into the care of the mentally unbalanced and change the laws for how difficult it is to commit someone.
No need to abandon the 2nd Amendment. Abandon deinstitutionalization.
December 14, 2012 at 1:19 pm
Let's see.
No one really needs knives either right?
China stabbing spree hurts 22 schoolchildren
There's plenty more where that comes from dgun.
Bottom line is that guns can PREVENT people hurting other people just as surely as they do the hurt.
You really think you are smarter than the Founders?
The actual purpose of guns is to allow a citizen to retain some power against wrongdoers. (Including wrongdoing government)
And now you wish us to lose all power?
December 14, 2012 at 1:27 pm
Let's see.
Bottom line is that guns can PREVENT people hurting other people just as surely as they do the hurt.
Unfortunately those "preventative" guns always seem to be the last ones to the party....
December 14, 2012 at 1:36 pm
And dgun:
While you attack the 2nd Amendment, perhaps you think they all have their flaws (all 10 of the Bill of Rights Amendments)
and we should eliminate them and just hope that everyone tries to be good?
December 14, 2012 at 1:59 pm
Also, every time one of these massacres happen we say "now is not the time to talk about gun control".
I disagree. Now is the time. NOW.
Tomorrow or the next day is a good time to talk about how to prevent it from happening again, if there is a reasonable solution.
December 14, 2012 at 2:34 pm
Perhaps what we need is 2-3 teachers armed per campus. These would be specially certified teachers or other school personnel that would be allowed/required/paid to concealed carry on campus every day.