Yesterday, retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, after gazing deeply into the emanations and penumbras of his gun-grabbing soul, published an op-ed in the New York Times advocating the repeal of the Second Amendment (he’s not the first to express that wish on those pages). As commenter Charlie wrote about the Justice’s display of candor,
Possibly the most intellectually honest thing I’ve heard from the anti-gun side in 25 years. But still it’s a bad move. Even trying to repeal 2A – and getting more than a handful of states to sign on – will cause a lot of people to start the resistance efforts. Which will provoke a violent government reaction, and a violent counter-reaction, which will spiral out of control and lead to some very bad times.
Agreed. At least with the intellectual honesty part.
Rarely do we see someone on the anti-gun left (NB: Stevens was a dissenting vote in both Heller and McDonald) so openly declare his preference that the right to armed self defense be abolished. We usually have to nod our heads and roll our eyes as we’re earnestly told not to worry, that no one wants to take away our guns or our right to keep and bear them.
So much for that horse hockey. Justice Stevens makes no bones about it.
But what about Charlie’s prediction that even the effort to repeal the Second would result in what the Chinese call “interesting times?” Remember, it takes two-thirds votes in both the House and Senate to amend the Constitution, followed by approval of three-quarters of the states.
If the process were started — say a 2A repeal actually makes it through Congress and goes to the states — and, as Charlie predicts, resistance efforts were mounted, what would that even look like? Would we see angry demonstrations in each state ahead of the the votes? Would those turn violent? Would legislators, at either the state or federal level, be threatened because of their votes, either pro or con?
Would even attempting to repeal the right to keep and bear arms, something many on the left would dearly love to see, turn violent?