Is That A Right? | Second Amendment Debate
- Unscripted Monarch
- Jun 25, 2022
- 3 min read
The United States has been riddled with mass shootings over the past few years. Not very surprising, since we're one of the few countries that allow average citizens to carry firearms in public. It's always been confusing why they would ever allow something like that to happen. So I decided to do some research into its origins. And lo and behold, its origins are just as skewed as the rest of America.
The purpose of the second amendment wasn't for Americans to "protect their homes" or "defend" themselves in public. Plus it's not like we're doing a good job with that anyway. We've moreso seen people use guns on defenseless people, so this amendment has already lost its meaning. The purpose of the Second Amendment was more or less to protect the country. Since America was just being established, citizens feared the government using soldiers to enforce their laws. They believed that soldiers should only be used for foreign enemies while average citizens should take up guns themselves to solve national disputes.
Of course, in context, this probably meant they wanted guns to defend themselves in case of civil wars while the government handled international ones. But, as usual, the meaning was twisted. The second amendment gave the right to bear arms to a "well-regulated militia" and not just the average citizen. However, it seems as though that part has been ignored completely. In terms of a "well-regulated militia", it seems more likely they are referring to groups like the police force and the National Guard rather than your neighbor next door. Also, it was meant to protect the country from internal disputes rather than for self-defense.
But of course, this amendment was written hundreds of years ago. We are still adding our own laws that the "founding" fathers never even thought of or necessarily had to worry about. The "founding" didn't think of giving women and minorities the right to vote. They didn't think of ending slavery or segregation or same-sex relationship bans. But people have since then. We've had a Black president, same-sex marriage, and women voting at the polls. Things that were never in the Constitution but have benefitted most if not all of us.
If we only focused on what's in the Constitution, we'd be in a country ruled by white Christian men, with minorities and women having little to no rights, and some of our Presidents never being elected. Do you know what else that means? That means there would be no electoral college if we stuck to what was in the Constitution. No electoral college, Donald Trump loses 2016 election. Instead of focusing on the past and on laws that were made when there was still slavery, let's focus on the future we're trying to build together. One where no one, no matter what age or mental health state, can walk into a school or a grocery store and take out their anger and hate on innocent people.
P.S. As of writing this, there has been yet another shooting, this time in Chicago. Even now, as people keep pushing toward more guns in more people's hands they keep proving why we shouldn't have them. Unless you are a part of law enforcement and/or in the military, then we shouldn't be allowed to have guns, let alone walk around with them. These are the consequences of believing more guns will solve our problems.
Relevant Links (please do your own research) :
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