The Second Amendment, contrary to what pro-gun owners would have you believe, is NOT an 11th Commandment written on the stone tablet by God. It is the second of 27 amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America - the first ten called “the Bill of Rights” - submitted in 1789.
These amendments clarify in a practical and more workable way the intension of the Constitution.
Here is the Second Amendment: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
All of the amendments have been and are subject to interpretation and some have been challenged. One has been repealed. None have been more hotly debated than the second. It’s most recent challenge came in 2002, when the Supreme Court of the time “concluded” an interpretation more to its liking and MUCH more to the liking of the National Rifle Association.
The “militia” was out as a reason to possess guns and, somehow, “rights” was in. The American people weren’t too surprised at anything that particular Supreme Court would do after its dramatic role and performance two years before during the 2000 elections.
This particular piece of legislation just seemed to slip by without much fanfare (at least I do not remember it). But that was then; this is now. Today I do not believe that the American people, including myself, will ever again just roll over and look the other way.
Guns have got to go - and the Second Amendment along with all its baggage must be repealed. Ironically, some of the best arguments for this come from the NRA itself. It is they who oppose any and all restrictions on any and all guns. They say because nothing would work. Their own solution to this immediate and terrifying problem of habitual murder and mass murder by gunfire in this country is to arm every man, woman and child to the teeth - irrespective, for once, of their favorite red herring, “mental health,” because, of course, the next potential killers would be and are among us.
The unspoken and oddly naive rational behind this potentially cataclysmic solution is that by giving a gun to someone, he or she automatically becomes - as they call them - “a good guy.” This theory certainly did not hold true in New Mexico last month where a man gave his (angelic looking) teenage son a gun and with that gun the son shot and killed every member of his family, including the father.
For many, repealing the Second Amendment would be a shock, and for many, indeed, a sacrifice. But time is not on our side. My dear friends - with or without guns, I know you to be loyal and loving people and ever faithful to our wonderful country. Now it is up to you.
Maria Elena Pignatelli
East Haven