Posted on 06/12/2007 4:23:30 AM PDT by Sub-Driver
Repeal Second Amendment, Analyst Advises By Nathan Burchfiel CNSNews.com Staff Writer June 12, 2007
(CNSNews.com) - The Second Amendment guarantees the right of an individual to own guns and for that reason should be repealed, according to a legal affairs analyst who opposes gun ownership.
"The Second Amendment is one of the clearest statements of right in the Constitution," Benjamin Wittes, a guest scholar at the center-left Brookings Institution, acknowledged in a discussion Monday. "We've had decades of sort of intellectual gymnastics to try to make those words not mean what they say."
Wittes, who said he has "no particular enthusiasm for the idea of a gun culture," said that rather than try to limit gun ownership through regulation that potentially violates the Second Amendment, opponents of gun ownership should set their sights on repealing the amendment altogether.
"Rather than debating the meaning of the Second Amendment, I think the appropriate debate is whether we want a Second Amendment," Wittes said. He conceded, however, that the political likelihood of getting the amendment repealed is "pretty limited."
Wittes said the Second Amendment guarantee of the right to bear arms meant more when it was crafted more than 200 years ago than it does today. Modern society is "much more ambivalent than they [the founders] were about whether gun ownership really is fundamental to liberty," he said.
"One of the things that they believed was that the right of states to organize militias, and therefore individuals to be armed, was necessary to protect the liberty of those states against the federal government," Wittes said. "This is something we don't really believe as a society anymore."
(Excerpt) Read more at cnsnews.com ...
Believe it or not, this is the best for pro-gun people. If they try to repeal it, they’ll obviously fail.
Maybe if they take his advice and stop trying to make incremental laws and such and repeal the ones that we have now, things will get a lot better.
Yeah like that’s really gonna happen.
What is this guy smoking?
What society is he talking about? The leftist, socialist big daddy government society?
He's just one of those people who has to be first in line, if you catch my drift.. :-)
In your face Liberalism. Hillary wants to take your stuff and give it to others she thinks want it and can better use it — And now, no longer is the public safety “if it saves one life” ruse even tried anymore.
Democrats, raise taxes, fund socialism and gun control. I am sure you can figure out how the three parts connect together.
Well, I gotta say....it's refreshing to see somebody tell you exactly where they stand & how they feel. Even though I totally disagree.
Make him happy. Make us rest easier.
After all, sometimes it's necessary for a single individual to pay a steep price so that others may have freedom and liberty, and this is a case where I think Wittes is that guy!
"One of the things that they believed was that the right of states to organize militias, and therefore individuals to be armed, was necessary to protect the liberty of those states against the federal government," Wittes said."This is something we don't really believe as a society anymore."
Oh yeah mr 'guest scholar'. I'll bet ya a shiny new Nickel otherwise.
The imaginary one.
The other side in the next civil war.
Actually, it’s refreshing to hear a leftist just come out and say they just don’t believe in the Constitution and the America of the Founding Fathers.
I am so sick of these Pelosi types that come out and insist they want “America’s original vision” and then try to gut everything we ever believed.
Scary, though.
The line, I'm afraid, will be rather long.
Never heard of this guy,and why do we give a crap what he thinks?
He should go crap in his hat.
The second amendment is one of the things that keeps our own government in control,and now with our politicians seemingly not caring what the will of the people is any more we may need it now worse than ever.
Hell... let’s just get rid of that pesky Constitution... didn’t the Founders understand that hildebeast was coming? (extreme sarcasm)
If they try to abolish something so important that the Founding Fathers felt it neccessary to put it in the Constitution, right behind the Freedom of Speech and Assembly... a War will break out in the streets of America... a REAL CIVIL WAR!
Can we sue these people for trying to supress our Constitutional rights? I’ll bet the lawsuits would fly at the first hint of repealing the FIRST AMENDMENT!
LLS
Not a good idea; a Hail-Mary play like this would be so in-your-face that even the freedom-freeloaders might finally get off their collective butts and resist.
"Repeal the Second Amendment", eh? How about repealing these worms' birth certificates instead?
Bring it on.
Repeal would fail miserably.
I agree with the analysis that the Second Amendment is a clear statement and that the only way to ban gun ownership is to repeal it. But the notion that repeal could happen in this country could only be entertained by somebody who has led a very, very sheltered life.
Sorry... there are no Government rights listed in the Amendments. They only limit government... not empower it. You cannot argue that only one governmental right exists in these Amendments. It has already been ruled so by the Federal Courts and no doubt the SCOTUS will uphold that decision.
LLS
I agree. The guy at least has an intellectual honesty. Opponents of gun ownership HAVE tried to twist and turn and play fast and loose with the second amendment. But the simple fact is it DOES mean exactly that everyone can (and indeed should) own firearms. It is, frankly, intellectually dishonest to try and say otherwise. Therefore, if you think the general public should not be armed, then campaigning to end the second amendment is the only honorable choice you have.
As to whether he is right or not, well that is a separate issue which is not the thrust of this particular article.
“One of the things that they believed was that the right of states to organize militias, and therefore individuals to be armed, was necessary to protect the liberty of those states against the federal government,” Wittes said. “This is something we don’t really believe as a society anymore.”
What??? This guy is nuts.
Charlton Heston said it best.......
I think this should be the Dem platform, “Repeal the 2nd Amendment”
Sounds like a sure-fire recipe for victory...
For Conservatives, that is.
“Actually, it’s refreshing to hear a leftist just come out and say they just don’t believe in the Constitution and the America of the Founding Fathers.”
No, he’s saying he doesnt believe in that PART of the constitution (he may be red-hot passionate on everything else for all we know), and that the America of the Founding Fathers isn’t the same as the America of today (which of course it isn’t. Whether or not its different in the ways he thinks is a matter of debate).
It is refreshing. I don’t mind politicos who say what they think. If you like it, vote for it. If you dont, vote agin em! At least you know where you stand with this kind of guy. You can argue your point, and he can argue his, and the people can decide. Its called freedom of expression.
It is the twisty slimy types (pelosi?) who say one thing and mean another that I despise.
2008 is gonna be fun!
No doubt it would fail miserably. But look at what the guy is saying - he thinks that as well.
What an idiot.
If we put the same type of regulations around “freedom of the press” as we do around owning a firearm, the daily news would be about two weeks behind, there’d be only a couple of news outlets, they’d all be censored by the federal government, and there’d be a huge blackmarket where people went for current news. Neither incrementalism nor a repeal will eliminate guns from society. What's this guy's plan for all the new criminals that will be created after the repeal? Amnesty?
The Second Amendment was a necessary precondition of enacting the Constitution in the first place. Repealing it would mean not only the end of the Amendment itself, but also the end of the Constitution.
It would not, however, mean the end of the right, because the right itself pre-existed and is not dependent on the Second Amendment. It would simply legalize government abuse and denial of the fundamental right to self-defense, just like in Rwanda.
Gun ownership, individual rights, individual responsibilities and socialist utopia do not go together.
Send him to some craphole in the mideast or southeast Asia where if he actually speaks his opinion, some Mufti will order an intifadah against him.
Then he’ll get to kiss the chambers of the guns that get carried by the Marines who come in to save his worthless behind!
Actually, the amount of terrorism and mass murder "back in the old days" dwarfs what we are seeing today. Folks weren't just walking around in petticoats and powdered wigs, you know...
"Dump the Second Ammendment and the rest of the Bill of Rights will follow."
While an ardent supporter of the 2nd amendment, and member of the Virginia unorganized militia (by law), it is nice to see someone taking a head-on approach to the 2nd rather than the back-door efforts to erode the right to bear arms. However, there is a sort of asymmetric warefare at play here. While there would be a definite ending point for the debate if, God forbid, the 2nd amendment were repealed, there is no such event for the 2nd amendment’s sustaining. When would the anti-gun crowd ever admit that it had failed to repeal the 2nd amendment and move on? They wouldn’t. They would just sneak around the back of the house and try the back door again. And again and again and again.
The debate is settled. The 2nd amendment is the law of the land. Period.
So, because he's obviously an anti-gun pansy and "doesn't like the gun culture", he wants to strip away a true Constitutional right? Simply breathtaking.
Maybe YOUR society doesn't, bubby, but MY society says different.
Speak for yourself pal. And the rest of the liberal socialists.
Nah, it's not "modern society" that's much more ambivalent - it's liberals. Conservatives still believe in the Constitution.
Repeal of the 2nd invalidates the Government. Period.
Hmmm... substitute MSM for the press, and “New Media” for the blackmarket... and you are not so far off of reality.
Remember that the socialist panty-waists have already disarmed themselves. They want to level the political field by having real men disarmed so they can slap them with a lawsuit, or some other wussified action.
Nothing quite like the smell of cordite in the morning.
Remember that the socialist panty-waists have already disarmed themselves.
The rule of law is gone altogether. The Congress and the president have refused their Constitutional duty to protect us from invasion.
We have open gang warfare in the streets. We might has well have a civil war over the Second Amendment and open borders...
This is refreshing. At least they’re being honest about what the Second Amendment really means, for a change.
The rule of law is gone altogether. The Congress and the president have refused their Constitutional duty to protect us from invasion.
We have open gang warfare in the streets. We might has well have a civil war over the Second Amendment and open borders... I'm ready...
The Constitutional exercise is the right to own or not to own a weapon. I believe Wittes' debate is a waste of time and breath as I believe the American majority still consider the Constitutional right to bear arms fundamental in their defense of liberty. I do.
On the contrary, this guy actually believes in the Constitution. He proposes amending it, rather than pretending that proposed legislation doesn't violate it. Most people just wink at the Constitution, and merrily go on supporting whatever legislation suits their fancy.
I'm guessing he smokes those Clove fags.
I applaud his correct understanding of our Constitution.
I will ALWAYS be on the other side of the issue as to whether it should be repealed.
As statement of fact, what he says is really indisputable IMHO. The only issue is that he's wrong about it not being essential to the protection of liberty.
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