That ringing phrase of Justice Jackson had a lot of clarity and common sense behind it back in the day. But then subsequent SCOTUS decisions on the regulation of firearms opted to ignore the conditioning phrase of the 2nd amendment, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, ...” And the situation has become increasingly dire with more recent decisions that enshrine individual gun ownership as sacrosanct.
The result: SCOTUS interpretation of the 2nd amendment has rendered the constitution
incompatible with human life.
What’s that you say? I’m exaggerating? Well, how else would explain the fact that in the 24 days of 2023, the US has seen 45 mass shootings.
And really, what else would you expect? For many the object of owning a gun may be simply to have a (false) sense of security; but for others what’s the point of owning it if you don’t fire it?
The identities of the shooters in recent tragedies in California, where gun laws are among the most restrictive in the country, are outside of the usual demographic profile. Looks like the notion that there is a shooter profile is quickly eroding. When anyone can obtain a gun, anyone can be a shooter.
In a recent visit to the UK, I spoke with many people who travel widely around the globe, but who now say that they avoid the US because of gun violence. The US used to be a desired destination, but for many it’s no longer worth the risk. But while we might lament the lost tourism revenue, the problem is much more serious—it’s about our own survival.
We face a stark choice: we either allow ourselves to be killed or repeal the 2nd amendment.
Not that I expect Americans to go for it, but repeal is really our only hope of restoring the security of our country. No other developed nation experiences the volume of gun violence that we do, and it’s largely because their ability to control firearms is not inhibited by an antiquated 18th-century notion, one that was never intended to make an army of one out of every citizen. The framers, seeking to protect the fledgling republic from other nations, drafted the 2nd amendment to have a ready force by which to repel invaders. We no longer need that firepower because we have the mightiest military in the world.
And yet the SCOTUS insists that their interpretation of the constitution’s original intention is to put guns --and not 18th-century muzzle-loaded muskets, but high-powered, extended magazine automatics—in the hands of unaccountable individuals. As long as the SCOTUS declares that the 2nd amendment prohibits us from infringing on the rights of citizens to kill the rest of us, and many of themselves along the way, our only recourse is to repeal that damned 2nd amendment.
If not, then the constitution is the suicide pact that Jackson insisted that it isn’t.