By Tom Kando
Even after the Sandy Hook
massacre of twenty children, the ENTIRE
debate about gun control is about how to limit SOME sorts of fire arms, while protecting the 2nd
Amendment. I have yet to hear ANYONE, no
matter how liberal, suggest that we
repeal the 2nd amendment altogether. So let me be the first one to raise this sacrilegious
thought.
1. Amendments aren’t sacrosanct. The 18th amendment (prohibition) was a mistake, so it was repealed by the 21st. Similarly, the 2nd amendment could be repealed through a future amendment, e.g. the 28th.
2. Do the constitutions of most other countries
also protect the right to bear arms as a fundamental human right? I doubt it.
3. My proposal is not serious:
A.
There is no chance in hell that America will EVER repeal its 2nd
amendment. B. I don’t feel that we need to. Like everyone else, I feel that we just need to tinker with it, i.e. work hard at reducing access to most firearms through a variety of new laws. Might as well leave the 2nd amendment alone.
But I did want to toss out this LOGICAL
possibility for discussion. I am
struck by the fact that NO ONE, not even the most ardent gun control advocates,
ever mentions it. After all it is, as I said, ONE of the logical possibilities.
And while we are on logical
possibilities:
The 2nd amendment is
meant to protect our fundamental right to self-defense (against bad guys,
against government tyranny, against foreign invasion, etc.), right?
So then, how about postulating a
fundamental right to FLEE:
After all, when you are
confronted by aggression, by potential violence and by potential death, you
have two options: FIGHT or FLIGHT. That’s how it is in the animal kingdom, and
that’s how it is among humans. Deer, antelope, buffalo - they can either
turn their horns towards their
enemy and fight, or they can
flee. Whatever it takes to survive. It is the same for humans.
Therefore, the Founding Fathers
could have added another right, in addition to the right to bear arms so as to
fight back: the fundamental right to FLEE.
And, just like your ability to
fight back is improved if you own a gun, so your ability to flee is also improved by some possessions:
For example, the Founding
Fathers could have formulated the following
amendment - call it Amendment 2B:
And as we all know, as times
change, the Constitution and amendments
must evolve and adapt. Therefore, the fundamental right to escape violence must also include cars, bicycles and other means of mobility.
Thus by the 21st
century, all American citizens should have a fundamental right to own a
bicycle. Paraphrasing Charlton Heston,
let me say that “I’ll give you my bike when you pry it from my cold dead
hands.”
