Unfettering the Second Amendment
David L. Katz, MD, MPH
CMO, Tangelo. Founder: Diet ID; True Health Initiative. Founding Director, Yale-Griffin PRC (1998-2019). Health Journalist. COVID Curmudgeon
In my entire series of commentaries on guns and gun control- most since Newtown, but some prior- I have, for one thing, indulged the prevailing fantasy that this debate really has anything to do with the Second Amendment. I have pretended that I actually believe this isn’t about big companies wanting to make as much money as possible by selling their wares. I’m sure those who truly believe the NRA fears imminent acts of tyranny by our government of jack-booted thugs against which they are the last line of defense, rather than losing the funding of the gun manufacturers that fill their war chest, have great admiration for the Emperor’s new clothes as well. They may also be shopping for bridges in Brooklyn.
But let’s leave that alone. I have pretended I believe it thus far, and in for a penny, in for a pound. I will continue to pretend I believe it. It’s about the Second Amendment! I do believe, I do.
And then, given that this is actually about our Constitutional rights, I have merely argued- reasonably and moderately, I thought- that the Second Amendment requires interpretation. I have suggested we were obligated to decide what people, and what arms. Not all arms, for all people, surely?
But I have been soundly thrashed for my pains. I have been told in no uncertain terms that I am an ignoramus. No, we do not need to decide which people, and no, we do not need to decide what arms. If the Founders wanted our opinions, they would, apparently, have demanded them of us- presumably at gun point.
So, I surrender to the adamant friends of my gun-toting countrymen. I yield to the omniscient, future-forecasting prowess of the Founders. I renounce my prior allegiance, and seek to join the ranks of the enlightened. I renounce the nonsense of thinking about actual consequences in the actual world.
I am now for a Second Amendment with no interpretation whatsoever. Let’s fully, completely, and utterly unfetter the Second Amendment from the outlandish suggestions of the type of ignoramus I was until just now.
The Second Amendment, unfettered, makes no exclusion for incarcerated felons. It makes no exception for those convicted of violent crime. And so, neither should we.
Admittedly, it will prove inconvenient for the security personnel in our correctional facilities when they are obligated to indulge the Constitutional right of inmates to bear arms. But that’s too bad. It’s Constitutional, after all. A gun in every cell, I say. And by all means, make it a big gun, semi-automatic, high velocity, with a large magazine. There is no mention in the Second Amendment of any reason not to do so.
The Second Amendment does not disparage armor-piercing bullets, so throw those in, too. Who the hell are we to add provisos and caveats to a Constitutional Amendment?
There is no mental health test in the Second Amendment. So our psychiatric inpatients also should have their Constitutional Second Amendment right indulged. There is no indication in the Second Amendment that those upon whom commitment papers have been served are exempted. The unfettered Second Amendment does not exempt them, so neither should we.
There is no stipulation of age in the Second Amendment. Kids are people, too (more or less)- and the Second Amendment says, simply and clearly: the people.
And so I raise my voice on behalf of the voiceless! There is no Constitutionally safeguarded right to bear toys, or play with mobiles. Substituting those for guns is outrageous presumption on the part of parents everywhere.
Since we can’t know whether or not neonates want loaded guns in their cribs, but they have a Constitutional right to do so- the only reasonable default is to presume they do. It is a violation of the spirit, if not the letter, of the Second Amendment to deny every 1-year-old the arms to which they are entitled. I damn well want a loaded gun in every crib!
And if you, like me, support a fully unfettered, unfiltered, uninterpreted, and unsullied application of the Second Amendment- then so should you.
If you happen not to want a loaded Bushmaster in every crib, in every cell, and on every psychiatric ward, then you seem to be suggesting the need to make decisions about what people, and perhaps what guns.
Frankly, that seems very slippery-slopish to me. What next? How far can it be between denying felons the arms to which they are entitled, and yielding all of our liberties to those jack-booted government thugs carrying out pogroms because we use the wrong brand of laundry detergent, or fail to watch Fox News? Truly, I see no daylight between those perils, and the many others that are sure to follow.
Denying the people- and I mean any people- their right to bear arms- and I mean any arms- seems dangerously unconstitutional to me.
If you remain so unenlightened as to disagree, I pity you. You are in the dark, as I was until half an hour ago. I won’t go so far as to call you treasonous, but you know I’m thinking it.
But I will say this to you if you are the kind of ignoramus that wants to go off in the direction of interpreting the Constitution: in for a penny, in for a pound.
Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images News
-fin
Dr. David L. Katz; www.davidkatzmd.com
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Independent Medical Practice Professional
11 年Thank you for this enlightened post, the only conclusion that makes any sense for the incredible level of denial we are living with on most issues of the day, especially the obvious common sense desperately needed for gun control.
Seasoned Executive/Expert in Integrative Healthcare, Nutraceuticals, Functional Foods, and Wellness Innovation/Proven leader in Cross-Functional Team Development. Highly Valued Consultant with 4+ Decades of Experience.
11 年While politicians argue and posture about gun control and many claim that everyone in America wants gun laws to become more restrictive, millions of Americans have voted against them with their dollars by purchasing firearms and ammunition at unprecedented rates. Almost impossible to find .223/5.56 ammunition for ranch rifles (mini 14s, etc) and AR-15 (same caliber) since Newtown. In my state the background check wait time for purchasing a legal firearm before the Newtown tragedy used to be 30-60 minutes, now it is about 2 weeks because of the sheer amount of new purchases creating this backlog. This is a very polarized and complex issue. I share the conflict in that I hate that so many innocent lives can be wiped out by these misanthropes and psychopaths and can't even imagine the pain and loss the parents and families must feel after these tragedies...yet our culture has become so violent that I reserve the right to defend my family from home invaders and really don't want to be erroneously told that an AR-15 is an assault rifle or the size of magazines (that can be reloaded in 1-2 seconds) matters to someone hellbent on taking numerous lives...whether I own these or not.
Chairman Technical Committee at BBSYDP, Adviser Health & Education at KCCI & Consultant at Baba-e-Homoeopathy Dr. Hamid
11 年Nice to read this article, All the Best
Publisher at Second Wind Media Ltd.
11 年I have never shot a gun (except at a carnival) I may very well go through life without ever shooting a gun. And I am sure that some regulation of guns is sensible but I cannot escape my radical past and family legacy and I say simply if guns are outlawed only police will have guns. I wish some of the 2000 people that were gunned down in one afternoon by a handful of ss ( some reports say only two) in my father's town did have guns. There is great historical evidence that the state is more dangerous to the average person than the people. It is naive to believe that state violence even in the US has come to a permanent end. I'm sure this note puts me on some of your crack pot list - but social and medical scientists need to look at how and why the violence contagion is spreading. As horrible as the outcome of gun violence it is unfortunately the symptom and we need to address the causes. We need to look at the role of some companies and organization in the contagion causing violence, and mass violence - the emphasis on the guns and the manufacturers of guns is taking our attention away from those that undermine society and create violence. If you become as outraged with them, I may be brought along.
Solo pain practice owner
11 年That is, they are people too, not their. Woops