Time to revise second amendment

8

To the Editor:

The second amendment to our Constitution starts with the words “A well regulated Militia being necessary…” and then goes on with the subject of bearing arms.

This amendment was created over 200 years ago when England was our enemy. There was no official national army, no state police, no police departments in our towns.

Nowadays, we have plenty of protection from organized departments and gun control is not in the hands of every Tom, Dick, and Harry; and Tom, Dick, and Harry are definitely not well regulated.

The time is now to think carefully about effective gun control and safety for all citizens.

Perhaps it is also time for the second amendment to be properly re-written.

Heidi Schultz

West Tisbury

8 COMMENTS

  1. The police carry guns for their OWN protection. They do not protect you. They are REACTIVE, not proactive. The come to the scene of a crime AFTER the fact. Criminals don’t abide by laws. Honest citizens do. How are the strictest gun laws in the USA working out in Chicago with close to 500 deaths last year?Creating more laws that penalize honest law abiding gun owners is the typical playbook of the left, financed by Bloomberg and Soros. Try Crime control using the strict federal laws already in place, “IF” enforced would do more than state laws that are routinely ‘plea bargained’ down to lesser charges. Mentally ill people should not have access to guns, and should have them taken away. In Massachusetts your local Chiefs issue the permits and routinely revoke them and take possession of weapons if there is a reason to (such as domestic violence ). Taking away the rights of honest law abiding citizens to protect themselves from criminals is not the answer. The only thing criminals understand is force, and if they know they will be staring at a gun, they won’t use theirs. Sorry to burst your liberal bubble, but crime control is the issue, not more gun laws. (and if a teacher has a concealed weapon, its a deterrent. If you fly on airplanes you should be aware that there are armed air marshals, as well as MANY armed pilots. All of which came into play after 9-11. Guess what.. NO airline hijackings of a US domestic airliner since then.Hopefully this will work in the schools too)

    • Did you cheer when the NRA successfully lobbied to have rolled back mental health checks? Or the NRA’s ongoing efforts to allow released felons to own again? Can’t enforce laws that are removed from the books.

      • Disingenuous new englander. The one law which Trump rolled back was highly suspect. You know as well as me that most laws on the books are indeed not enforced.

        • If you believe those with mental health issues should not be reviewed as part of their application, don’t tap dance around the issue, just say so.

    • notnewhere—your argument about arming everyone to scare the criminals could be shredded by any rationally thinking 9th grader.. You seem to attribute the lack of hijackings on American planes to the fact that pilots MAY have guns, and that the homeland security spends nearly a billion dollars a year flying marshals around.. Not once have they intervened in a situation– , and they are on one in about 400 flights. people who hijack planes to fly them into buildings are willing to give their lives for their cause– do you really think that they are worried about the 1 in 400 chance that there will be an air marshal on board ? Do you think that billion dollars a year is the most effective way to stop airline terrorism ?
      You know what works ???? Airlines don’t allow people with guns on board— and they make sure people with guns do not get on board.. Less than 1 % of pilots have permission to carry on board..
      Perhaps we haven’t had any incidents because the faa actually enforces the rules.. come on, man– think about it..

      • DonDon. Your numbers are WAY off. I am not at liberty to divulge what percentage of flights contain armed cockpit crew or federal air marshals. Don’t be too confident about airlines (OR TSA) keeping guns off planes. Its a constant issue where TSA employees FAIL to stop the random checks of the firearms that are used to check their abilities. Make no mistake about it, the deterrent factor works. Criminals do not fear more laws. They have no cajones and don’t want to get shot. Ever live in a neighborhood off-island where a ‘wise guy’ was know to live on the street? I have, and NEVER was a home burglarized on the street or nearby, while other homes in town got robbed. Why? Because the criminals knew that if they got caught, they would end up in the back of a garbage truck. They have NO FEAR of the law. None whatsoever. And lets not forget, the airlines “LET’ the terrorists on board the planes or we would have never had 9-11. Who would have thought a boxcutter would change the world.

  2. Once again dondondon trots out the tired worn out mantra of gun control which if enacted would allow the bad guys to have guns not good caring citizens. Notnewhere is absolutely correct. Mentally ill cause the school tragedies. Terrorists cause tragedies in the name of Islam and thugs and gangs cause the killings in inner cities.

    • The GOP doesn’t get to weasel out of responsibility for shootings by claiming mental illness, not with the way they keep cutting funding.

      Did you remember to count when white supremacists (nazis, kkk, and trump supporters) commit acts of violence? You know, the stuff meant to terrorize minorities, make them fear white males?

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