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(CNSNews.com) - The Second Amendment guarantees the right of an individual to own guns and for that reason should be repealed, according to a legal affairs analyst who opposes gun ownership.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 He conceded, however, that the political likelihood of getting the amendment repealed is "pretty limited."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.
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