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Amending the Second Amendment???
Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2014 5:30 pm
by gthaustex
A recent piece discusses some calls to amend the Second Amendment, specifically those from former SCOTUS Justice John Paul Stevens. He advocates changing some words so that in order to posess firearms, one would have to be currently serving in the military. The author discusses the reasoning behind Stevens advocacy, but also points out that it would go nowhere fast:
As a practical matter, the Stevens amendment of the Second Amendment is DOA in any discussion of gun policy in the foreseeable future.
I found the closing paragraph interesting:
For a significant minority of Americans, firearms represent individualism, independence, and self-reliance. In the eyes of citizens who connect these values to gun ownership, membership in a militia—whatever that would mean in the modern context—isn’t a necessary part of the equation. Amending the Constitution, and that includes amending an amendment, is a political undertaking that has to reflect the will of “we the people.” These days, an awful lot of those people, the vast majority of whom obey the law and pay their taxes, like their guns and intend to keep them.
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/20 ... gn_id=yhoo
Re: Amending the Second Amendment???
Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2014 6:53 pm
by WildBill
If he is saying that, I am glad that John Paul Stevens is a former justice.
Re: Amending the Second Amendment???
Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2014 7:18 pm
by jmra
WildBill wrote:If he is saying that, I am glad that John Paul Stevens is a former justice.
Re: Amending the Second Amendment???
Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2014 9:27 pm
by A-R
He said similar when he was a sitting justice, but only in minority / dissenting opinions.
Re: Amending the Second Amendment???
Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2014 6:44 pm
by FML
He sounds like the type of person who thinks freedom of the press should only apply to journalists who work for the government.
Re: Amending the Second Amendment???
Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2014 8:51 pm
by Jumping Frog
. . . . from my cold dead fingers . . . .
Re: Amending the Second Amendment???
Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2014 8:55 pm
by mamabearCali
Wow...glad is gone.
Re: Amending the Second Amendment???
Posted: Sat Feb 22, 2014 8:50 am
by jimlongley
The only comforting thought, beyond the obvious that his ex-parte comments are just that and have no force, is that amending the Constitution, including the Bill of Rights, involves a convoluted process.
Re: Amending the Second Amendment???
Posted: Sat Feb 22, 2014 2:38 pm
by tbrown
jimlongley wrote:The only comforting thought, beyond the obvious that his ex-parte comments are just that and have no force, is that amending the Constitution, including the Bill of Rights, involves a convoluted process.
That's why the bad guys pass unconstitutional laws instead. Then the burden is on their victims to fight back in the courts.