TIME TO AMEND THE SECOND AMENDMENT

The time has come to amend the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. The effort to bring a rational, technologically modern interpretation to its archaic words has been stymied by the absolutist stance of its fervid supporters, who constitute a minority of the population. Those supporters have raised gun ownership from a legal right to a bulwark against societal change. And citizens are dying as a result, some accidentally, some on purpose. Gun ownership has become a way to express a political viewpoint, a viewpoint that sees not opponents but enemies.

“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.”

Twenty-seven words. Written more than two centuries ago. What were “Arms” in 1791 when the Second Amendment, as part of the Bill of Rights, was ratified? Muzzle-loaded flint-lock muskets and pistols. Single shot. Two to three rounds per minute.

And what is this “well regulated Militia” jazz? The only groups around today that call themselves “militias” are certainly not well regulated. Moreover, instead of “being necessary to the security of a free State,” they are often sanctuaries for the disturbed and threats to more peaceful citizens.

So what should a modern Second Amendment protect? Reasonable gun ownership by qualified, mentally healthy individuals. Weapons of war, including automatic rifles, should not be in the hands of private citizens. Nor should hand grenades or shoulder-launched rockets. Legislatures should have leeway to define what are “arms,” who may own “arms,” who may not own “arms,” and where “arms” may be possessed or carried.

Is “reasonable gun ownership by qualified, mentally healthy individuals” a clear-cut standard? Certainly not. And ever-changing technology will pose a constant challenge to legislatures and enforcers. But the current environment in which words that describe tangible objects from a bygone era are held sacrosanct is absurd. The Constitution, particularly the first Ten Amendments (the Bill of Rights), is largely about intangibles—freedom of speech and the press, no law respecting an establishment of religion, protection from “unreasonable searches and seizures.” In this great document, the Second Amendment is an anomaly. It is about hardware that now exists only in museums. It should be updated with a “reasonableness” standard.