To Gun or Not to Gun...

©2013 by LeeZard

AMENDMENT II

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.

Let’s start the political war of the century. Let’s try to amend the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. YOIKS!

Of course, the Second Amendment is at the core of the debate over gun control. What gets lost in this emotional debate is the discussion over the intent of the Second Amendment. Did the framers of The Constitution intend that each individual has the right to keep and bear arms or did they mean that the state must be free to keep and bear arms for a “well-regulated militia?”  

Signing of the U.S. Constitution

While the National Rifle Association is very clear in its interpretation of the Second Amendment, the issue is clouded by such groups as the American Civil Liberties Union, the beacon of individual rights against an encroaching government, which contends the Second Amendment protects only the state’s right to maintain an organized military force. Who’s right? Damned if I know.

So, why not clarify things by clarifying the Second Amendment? YOIKS! I know; every time I say it I scare myself. It is a daunting task but, why not?

Rather than have individual states write and enforce their own gun control laws - or not - why not settle the whole shooting match with one shot heard ‘round the country (could not resist)? A daunting task indeed; According to The Federal Register and Article Five of the Constitution:

“An amendment may be proposed either by the Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate or by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the State legislatures. None of the 27 amendments to the Constitution have been proposed by constitutional convention. The Congress proposes an amendment in the form of a joint resolution. Since the President does not have a constitutional role in the amendment process, the joint resolution does not go to the White House for signature or approval.

 The proposed amendment is sent to the each state’s governor for formal submission to their state legislatures. 

State-by-State ERA Vote

A proposed amendment becomes part of the Constitution as soon as it is ratified by three-fourths of the states (38 of 50 States).”

A daunting task indeed. Remember the battle over the Equal Right Amendment? It first appeared in 1923 but it wasn’t until the early 1970s that both houses of Congress approved it. When it finally died in 1982, the ERA fell three states short of ratification. Still, I think it’s worth a try, albeit an expensive try. Can you imagine what the NRA would pour into the opposition effort?

I’m no legal expert and I won’t attempt to rewrite the Constitution here (I can hear the collective sigh of relief). And I am no big fan of government “task forces” but maybe, just maybe, this might be just the time for a task force. Even though the President has no formal role in the amendment process, wouldn’t it be courageous and cool if a president - in his second term and with  no political capital to lose - got leaders on both sides of the debate to sit down and try to hammer out a realistic answer to a 224 year old question and a modern day tragedy?