Former SCOTUS judge John Paul Stevens published an ‘interesting’ OPED in the NY Times yesterday…
He wants the Second Amendment to be repealed in response to the kids protesting…
His OPED is HERE.
He makes some interesting statements, including the fact that he believes Heller was wrong, thinks 2A is a ‘relic’ of the 18th century, and supports banning semi-automatic ‘weapons’.
While I truly doubt that the 2nd Amendment could actually be repealed, the policy does exist in the form of Article 5 of the Constitution-
The Congress, whenever two thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the several states, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the several states, or by conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress; provided that no amendment which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article; and that no state, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate.
So, it would take 75 Senators, and 327 Representatives to start the process, or 33 states to call a Constitutional Convention. Then 38 state legislatures or 38 STATE Constitutional Conventions would have to ratify said voting. While some say there are ‘other’ ways to repeal an amendment, I doubt they would stand the test of SCOTUS. The procedure would be run by the Archivist, as stated in 1 US Code, 106b.
There has been one Amendment repealed, and that one was Prohibition, the 18th Amendment, which went into effect in 1920 after 16 years of trying. It was repealed by the 21st Amendment in 1933.
You can go HERE, and see some of the proposals and proposed Amendments that have never been ratified…
What do I think will happen? I think the left/Dems/Libs will try to ban AR-15s through congressional action. And I believe that if they do so, the compliance will be as low as it is currently in NY and CT. My personal opinion is that their ultimate goal is to turn law abiding gun owners into criminals…
Am I wrong, or going down a rathole here??? Your thoughts?
“My personal opinion is that their ultimate goal is to turn law abiding gun owners into criminals…”
I think they want to drive gun owners underground and bee too scared to voice opposition to anti-gun proponents. They already have the full support of MSM. Gun owners are going to have to dig in and hold their position.
Actually, the Democrats’ goal is to turn law abiding citizens into criminals……
You are not wrong. We just don’t know yet to what degree they are willing to push their agenda publicly. But they get bolder every day. The anti-gun crowd has denigrated gun ownership and owners just like they did to tobacco users. Once we become persona non grata, then they will take off the gloves and legislate the use of firearms out of existence without having to go through that pesky amendment process. When some gun owner pushes back, they will be able to point their fingers and say “see, they are all too violent and unpredictable. We must take away their guns in the name of public safety!”.
The fact that a retired supreme court justice would publicly espouse eliminating the 2A will only add fuel to the fire.
If I remember correctly, this has been Steven’s position for a long time. It just resurfaced again. He is right in a way, the 2A stands in the way of disarming the American populace. It will have to go for them to reach their goal. We must NEVER give up this fight. We must never give them any inch. We never get anything from them in compromise. Until and unless the Constitution is legally changed, those who resist it are domestic enemies against whom I am duty bound to oppose.
I submit that they will still be our enemies, even if they manage to coerce, blackmail or bribe the legislatures of 38 States. The day they outlaw the 2nd Amendment is the guns will be needed most. Molon labe.
“Repeal” of the 2nd Amendment will not remove the inherent right to (self)defense. It will remove the legitimacy of the government that does it.
If you make me a criminal, does that make me free to start acting like one?
+1
Who are the criminals now? Perhaps those who knowingly push unconstitutional laws.
Yes, exactly.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/242
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/1985
I am not a lawyer. Notification required by the lawyer’s guild, who are very jealous of their special rights and privileges.
It is big central governments job to make potential criminals out of everyone. Not considering the fact that they want to make criminals out of otherwise law abiding citizens who will not comply with draconian gun confiscation laws, there are many times a day we are breaking laws we could be prosecuted for. If an agency, federal prosecutor or even local DA really wanted to bring charges against anyone they would dig deep enough to find something.
So you are not wrong. Like Cicero said, “the more laws, the less justice”
As to former “dinosaur” Justice Stephens? This statement proves to me he is off his rocker. “Overturning that decision via a constitutional amendment to get rid of the Second Amendment would be simple”. Simple? Really? If they accomplish this “Simple” act and that is a big IF. Civil War 2 becomes a shooting war. I really don’t worry about the actual repeal of the 2A. I fear more the incremental bloodletting of it’s purpose.
This book is relevant. “Three Felonies A Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent”
That’s from 2011. With inflation and including State laws, I believe it’s 17 felonies per day now.
I guess I am a living, walking Felon yet to be convicted and imprisoned.
You’re not wrong. “There’s no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren’t enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible to live without breaking laws.” (Ayn Rand)
She was sooooo right!
That is exactly their goal – to make everybody non-law abiding so that they can selectively prosecute their enemies, and along the way to remove guns from circulation because they know it is the only thing that can stop their agenda.
Of course the people who are the public face of the movement don’t know it; most of them have been duped and manipulated. Those who have the real end goal in mind are, for the most part, keeping it hidden.
And that right there is the reason we have so many stupid laws. Useful idiots. Too many useful idiots.
And that is what our evil overlords want. Stupid useful idiots and dupes. To take this wonderful experiment in human rights and turn it right into the pile of evil that we all escaped from.
Gaaaah, the stupid, it burns.
I think you nailed it. Criminalizing the opposition is a first step to dominance.
I am sure most here are a bunch of “older”, “seasoned” gentlemen. At this point in our lives what have we to lose? Bring it on.
I think they will push to ban not just AR15s but all semi-automatics, using the scare tactic that they are “Assault Weapons”. See the current bills introduced by the suual Democrat suspects that do just that.
I can’t see them getting enough support to actually repeal the Second Amendment, but it may draw some supporters and contributors to them for their quixotic effort.
On the other hand, all this push for bans and repealing the 2nd may also finally wake up the more disengaged firearms owners that are currently on the sidelines and get them to be more politically active, join the NRA, and actually get them to contribute to face down this full court press for gun bans.
They can take firearms one bullet at a time. But who will confiscate them? Most police are opposed to the practice as are members of the military – and they’d run out of inner city volunteers very quickly.
They want a revolution and they can get one if they want it enough. But who do they think will win? It sounds as though it hasn’t been thought out very well.
They don’t have a very intelligent long view…
“We cannot rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we’ve set. We gotta have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well funded.”
-The greatest president of modern times, July 2, 2008.
Who knew TGPOMT wanted that “civilian national security force” to be copies of his effeminate self and his mannish spouse?
All- Thanks for the comments. Can’t disagree. LL- THAT is the point they’re forgetting…
Goofy fucker…..
They may freely have all my ammo- one well aimed round at a time.
Our oath covers this, “Enemies foreign AND domestic”.
Too long since there’s been any consequences for this kind of behavior.
Here is David Cordrea’s analysis of the article. Good stuff
https://www.ammoland.com/2018/03/stevens-call-to-repeal-second-amendment-caps-a-career-of-judicial-subversion/#axzz5B4ZhCg8W
https://www.ammoland.com/2018/03/stevens-call-to-repeal-second-amendment-caps-a-career-of-judicial-subversion/#axzz5B4ZhCg8W
I liked it better when he played with Led Zeppelin.
Hey Old NFO;
I recall that if the leftist want their utopia, they would have to kill 10% of the American population to get the others to fall in line. This was from a left wing think tank. I see all these beta males holding signs saying “Yes we will take your guns”. And I an thinking…”you gonna lead the stack into my house?” This will get expensive for the left quickly, we are law abiding for a reason, if it gets nasty, we can get far worse then they can.
Our government doesn’t need to legislate the 2A out of existence. The “deep state” and liberals/Democrats will work with social media and the MSM to stigmatize gun owners, shooters, and the shooting sports. Big businesses (credit card companies, big box stores) will “roll hard left” to support the agenda and suck up to the “deep state” and liberals, and make guns, ammo, magazines, etc. hard to get.
Just like the Nazis did to the Jews, the liberals/Democrats are doing to gun owners. The difference – the Jews rolled over and handed over their guns, then later on walked onto the trains. I don’t think that gun owners in the US are inclined to follow the same path…
All- Appreciate the comments!
Posted from my iPhone.
Was in my local CA WalMart today. no longer selling ammo. (they stopped selling guns long ago)
Under the new rules in Ca. I doubt Walmart wants to have anything to do with ammo sales. They have and will do anything they can to limit your ability to remain armed.
Thought: “Well regulated” meant to be practiced and trained in the days of the common militia. Can restriction on ammo acquisition be constrained to be an infringement on one’s ability to remain “Well Regulated” and thus infringing upon our requirement imposed by the Constitution?
They’re still selling ammo until July 1st in most stores, at which point maintaining the state-mandated paperwork becomes onerous for them, and they’ll move the inventory to neighboring states’ stores.
You Yanks.
You lucky bastards.
At least you can defend yourselves within the four walls of your home, or even in public, not so here in Australia. Within the walls of my own house, if I wake up and there is an intruder, however armed, or not, and I, as a man, protect my family and ‘eliminate’ the threat, I will be, within no more than a half hour, at the Police station. At that police station, I will be interrogated, NO rights read, there are NO Miranda rights in Australia. As a Citizen, if i want to have a lawyer present, I will have to guarantee at least AUD1500 dollars, for that night only!. I won’t go on, ’cause it only gets worse. You Yanks, at least you have the Second Amendment, here in Australia, we have NO amendments. Because we have no Constitution as you have. You Yanks. DON’T LOSE IT!. IT!.
It would take 67 senators not 75.
Yeah. Math.
67 senators, and 290 congressweasels.
And then both houses and the governors of 38 states.
Not bloody likely.
Yes you are wrong. LOL. This topic even being brought up infuriates me. And it could happen with all those radical thinkers out there. I just want to throw buckets of money at the NRA to fight these idiotic notions except I’m a little short on buckets.
+1Charles Lodge
Yes, only one Amendment has been repealed. Which is a pity. Prohibition should teach us that laws are not graven in stone, that they can be repealed.
Far too little Law gets repealed, and lots should.