Repeal the 2nd Amendment - for Chicago, it's an Anachronism

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No, we don't suppose that's going to happen any time soon. But it should. The 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is evidence that, while the founding fathers were brilliant men, they could have used an editor. "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." If the founders... [Chicago Tribune, Editorial, via gunpolicy.org ]

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[Amkus]

Hurray for unbiased media that lack agendas!

[PackerfanXD]

Disgusting. I wish people of this mindset would just leave the country. If the Constitution isn't good enough, then just leave.

[gsh341]

Even if the Second Amendment were reapealed it would have no real impact on whether or not we could legally own firearms. The Second Amendment merely enumerates a right that was already pre-existing and does not grant that right.

Several of the founding fathers were against a bill of rights because it made those rights a target for those that would wish to infringe upon them and limit the rights to only those that were listed.

United States Bill of Rights - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The idea of adding a bill of rights to the Constitution was originally controversial. Alexander Hamilton, in Federalist No. 84, argued against a "Bill of Rights," asserting that ratification of the Constitution did not mean the American people were surrendering their rights, and therefore that protections were unnecessary: "Here, in strictness, the people surrender nothing, and as they retain every thing, they have no need of particular reservations." Critics pointed out that earlier political documents had protected specific rights, but Hamilton argued that the Constitution was inherently different:

Bills of rights are in their origin, stipulations between kings and their subjects, abridgments of prerogative in favor of privilege, reservations of rights not surrendered to the prince. Such was "Magna Charta", obtained by the Barons, swords in hand, from King John.[4]

Finally, Hamilton expressed the fear that protecting specific rights might imply that any unmentioned rights would not be protected:

I go further, and affirm that bills of rights, in the sense and in the extent in which they are contended for, are not only unnecessary in the proposed constitution, but would even be dangerous. They would contain various exceptions to powers which are not granted; and on this very account, would afford a colorable pretext to claim more than were granted. For why declare that things shall not be done which there is no power to do?[5]

Essentially, Hamilton and other Federalists believed in the British system of common law which did not define or quantify natural rights. They believed that adding a Bill of Rights to the Constitution would limit their rights to those listed in the Constitution. This is the primary reason the Ninth Amendment was included.

what people constantly forget is that the Constitution was written not to grant rights to the people from the Federal Government but was in fact the oppposite.

The Constitution grants only specific rights to the Federal Government and retains those not listed for the people and the states.

This is proven and reinforced by the Ninth and the Tenth Amendments.

Ninth Amendment

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Tenth Amendment

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

[TexicanKid]

I would have been perfectly fine if the Supreme Court had ruled the 2nd Amendment as a "federal" restriction and let the states uphold it individually or not as they choose.

Why? Because if state gun laws are a problem, there are always 49 other states to move to. But with federal gun control, where can you go to escape that?

If we resolved most of our controvesial issues at the state level, there would be fewer conflicts between the Left and the Right.

[WmBSmithII]

Im stationed in california what am i to do?