Cases Against the Second Amendment

“Only with gun violence do we respond to repeated tragedies by saying that mourning is acceptable but discussing how to prevent more tragedies is not.…talking about how to stop a mass shooting in the aftermath of a string of mass shootings isn’t ‘too soon.’ It’s much too late” (“29 Quotes”). So far in 2023, there have been over 500 mass shootings - more shootings than days in the year (“How Many”). With perpetual death and violence as a result of guns, we must find a solution that will keep us and future generations safe. With the United States being one of few developed nations with severe gun violence, the Second Amendment should be amended to allow for only military and police to own and operate guns to protect public safety. 

When approaching the discussion of a centuries-old document, it’s important to understand its origins and historical context. In writing the Constitution, the Founding Fathers intended for it to withstand time, yet the Second Amendment is increasingly less relevant today. Law professor Bertrall L. Ross at the University of Virginia explains historian and professor Saul Cornell’s view that “...the Second Amendment protects the People’s civil right ‘to keep and bear those arms needed to meet their legal obligation to participate in a well-regulated militia’” (Ross 497). Amongst scholars it’s debated whether or not the statement “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State…” acts as a qualifier on the “right of the people to keep and bear Arms” (U.S. Const. amend. II). When you consider the historical context of how and when the Constitution was written, and how state Constitutions were structured, it’s clear that the Founding Fathers had no desire for guns to be owned by everyone. Texas Law School Professor Sanford Levinson referenced Lawrence Cress, of the Texas A&M University who found that “state Constitutions regularly used the words ‘man’ or ‘person’ in regard to ‘individual rights such as freedom of conscience,’ whereas the use in those Constitutions of the term ‘the people’ in regard to a right to bear arms is intended to refer to the ‘sovereign citizenry’ collectively organized” (Levinson 645). In other words, a militia, not an individual. An important aspect of determining historical context is reviewing similar texts from that time period. The state constitutions referred to individual rights in a different way than the US Constitution, with a difference in meaning and intent. Furthermore, when you consider the context of the time period, the most advanced type of gun that was used was a musket, with “The standard rate of fire for infantrymen [being] three shots per minute” (“American”). We can surmise that the Founding Fathers had no inclination that guns would be as advanced as they are today. In her analysis of the Second Amendment, Margie Burns of the University of Maryland found that absolutely 

No records from the Constitutional Convention and the first federal Congress suggest that delegates welcomed a prospect of getting shot at by their own people. Recognizing the possibility of a future rebellion, they did as little as possible to encourage one. …they left no suggestion that they looked forward to seeing…[their new government] dismantled. (Burns 12) 

Though the Second Amendment, in its current interpretation, does secure the right to bear arms for all US citizens, it should be amended for relevancy today. 

Currently, the United States is the outlier in regards to gun violence, struggling to control it, while other countries like the United Kingdom, Australia and Germany have had success; the U.S. needs to make substantial changes in its gun regulations to bring itself in line with other countries. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation found that “[a]mong 65 high-income countries and territories, the United States stands out for its high levels of gun violence. The US ranks seventh out of 65 for homicides by firearm...​Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, two US territories, rank first and fourth on that list” (Leach-Kemon and Sirull). Considering our size and prominence in the world, it’s essential that we work to maintain our stance amongst other countries on the world stage. In fact, a report from the Global Mortality From Firearms, 1990-2016 found that, “Worldwide, it was estimated that 251,000…people died from firearm injuries in 2016, with 6 countries (Brazil, United States, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, and Guatemala) accounting for 50.5%...of those deaths” (Naghavi). If you consider how developed the United States is in comparison to its allies of similar size, it is jarring how far behind we are in this regard. Nurith Aizenman of NPR found in the database from The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation that in low income countries, deaths resulting from gun violence encounters are rare. Countries such as “...Bangladesh and Burundi…saw 0.06 deaths and 0.14 deaths, respectively, per 100,000 people. Prosperous Asian countries such as Singapore (0.003), Japan (0.005) and South Korea (0.01) boast the absolute lowest rates — along with China, at 0.013”. In comparison, “The U.S. has the 28th-highest rate of deaths from gun violence in the world: 4.31 deaths per 100,000 people in 2021” (Aizenman). With the United States rate of gun violence deaths being shockingly high, we are clearly not leading on the world stage in terms of gun violence. In order to regain our stance amongst other developed nations, we must address this gaping flaw in our institutions. 

With gun violence on the rise at an exponential rate in the United States, it’s vital that we take action as a matter of public safety. CDC studies have indicated that “Injuries and deaths from firearms impact many children and teens, their families, and their communities in the United States.” According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, when “Taking into account all types of firearm injuries, including homicides, suicides, and unintentional injuries, firearm injuries were the leading cause of death among children and teens ages 1-19 in 2020 and 2021” (“Summary”). It’s imperative that the public and our lawmakers not turn a blind eye to this crisis. We should be listening to professionals on this matter. Dr. David Brent and his colleagues advocate 

... for effective legislation that will bring our country’s firearm death toll more in line with the rest of the developed world....We support investment in better mental health care, recognizing that a decrease in youth violence is best achieved through long-term commitments to early intervention… (Brent et al. 4) 

When you consider how dangerous activities are regulated both in the United States and abroad, greater regulation would reduce the effects of this public health emergency. Dr’s Hemenway and Miller draw attention to the fact that “All developed countries require that drivers be licensed; like all other developed nations (and some US states), we should require that gun owners be licensed. Other high-income countries (and some US states) require that gun owners be trained and store their guns safely. We should follow their lead” (Hemenway and Miller). In order to protect our country’s youth, and the general public, it’s imperative that action is made on gun violence as a matter of public safety. 

With more mass shootings than days in 2023, we must enact substantial change (“How Many”). It is distressing that the leading cause of death amongst children is guns (“Summary”). It is vital that the United States at a minimum implement more stringent regulations to tackle this alarming crisis. Ideally, we would amend the Second Amendment to allow for only military and police to own and operate guns as a key measure to better protect the public safety of the country. As the United States is one of few developed nations with severe gun violence, it is imperative that we join our allies on the world stage in advocating for human life over guns. 

Works Cited

“29 Quotes about Gun Violence To inspire change.” Good Good Good, 26 May 2022, https://www.goodgoodgood.co/articles/gun-violence-quotes

Aizenman, Nurith. “How the U.S. Gun Violence Death Rate Compares with the Rest of the World.” NPR, 31 Oct. 2023, www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/10/31/1209683893/how-the-u-s-gun-violence-death-rate-compares-with-the-rest-of-the-world.

“American Revolutionary War: Guilford Courthouse.” National Park Service Museum Collections; American Revolutionary War, 26 July 2001, www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/revwar/guco/gucoweapons.html.

Brent, David A., et al. "Ending the silence on gun violence." Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 52.4 (2013): 333.

Burns, Margie. "Overview: Infringed or Abridged.” UMBC Faculty Collection (2020).

Hemenway, David, and Miller, Mathew. "Public health approach to the prevention of gun violence." The New England Journal of Medicine, Massachusetts Medical Society, 2013,  DOI: 10.1056/NEJMsb1302631

“How Many US Mass Shootings Have There Been in 2023?” BBC News, 27 Aug. 2023, www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41488081.

Leach-Kemon, Katherine, and Sirull, Rebecca. “On Gun Violence, the United States Is an Outlier” The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, 31 Oct. 2023, www.healthdata.org/news-events/insights-blog/acting-data/gun-violence-united-states-outlier.

Levinson, Sanford. "The embarrassing Second Amendment." The Yale Law Journal 99.3 (1989): 637-659.

Naghavi, Mohsen. “Global Mortality from Firearms, 1990-2016.” JAMA, 28 July 2018, jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2698492.

Ross II, Bertrall L. “Inequality, Anti-Republicanism, and Our Unique Second Amendment.” Harvard Law Review, vol. 135, no. 8, June 2022, pp. 491–504. EBSCOhost, research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=8c550a87-5f96-3590-adb7-ab46ffb035d8.

“Summary of Initial Findings from CDC-Funded Firearm Injury Prevention Research'' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 5 Oct. 2023, www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/firearms/firearm-research-findings.html.

U.S. Const. amend. II