Retired Justice Stevens: Repeal Second Amendment
Retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens is calling to repeal the Second Amendment. A look at his reasoning and why he argues it should be repealed.
Two-and-a-half cheers for Justice Stevens!
Let me say it up front: I don’t think we should repeal the Second Amendment. But I applaud retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens for arguing that we should.
Stevens penned an essay for The New York Times in which he argued that District of Columbia v. Heller, the 2008 decision that recognized an individual’s right to bear arms, was wrongly decided. (He was part of the dissent.) I disagree with Stevens about that, too. But I think he’s right in saying it was at least a “debatable” finding.
None of that is relevant to my point, however. I applaud Stevens’ essay for several reasons, but chiefly because it is honest. Gun-control proponents often say they favor “reasonable” or “commonsense” measures. And sometimes that’s true. But gun-rights proponents have a reasonable and commonsense suspicion that the real goal is to do away with most or all gun rights entirely.
That suspicion is bolstered when every now and then the mask slips. President Barack Obama said he thought Australia’s gun “buyback” system was worth exploring. The buybacks were mandatory. In other words, guns were confiscated by the state, but people were “compensated” for the seizure.
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