Former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens is releasing a new book in which he argues that the phrase “when serving in the militia” should be added to the Second Amendment.
The book is titled, “Six Amendments: How and Why We Should Change the Constitution”
The Second Amendment reads as follows: 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.
With Stevens’ proposed change: A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms [when serving in the Militia] shall not be infringed.
Former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens is set to release a new book in which he argues that the phrase “when serving in the militia” should be added to the Second Amendment.
The book is titled, “Six Amendments: How and Why We Should Change the Constitution,” and the change Stevens has in mind for the Second Amendment would alter the language so as to render it a protection of a collective right instead of an individual one.
Moreover, it would be a right that the government–at all levels–could regulate without hesitation.
Currently, the Second Amendment reads:
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.
Stevens’ contends that this was intended as a collective right only and that it was “limited in scope to the uses of arms related to military activity.”
According to The Washington Post, Stevens claims this was changed via the Supreme Court’s District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) decision. He says this decision suddenly introduced protections for “a civilian’s right to keep a handgun in his home for purposes of self-defense.”
Stevens says the McDonald v. Chicago (2010) decision furthered these changes by using “the due process clause of the 14th Amendment” to limit the ability of cities to ban the possession of handguns.
He says this can all be remedied by adding five words to the Second Amendment:
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms [when serving in the Militia] shall not be infringed
No…
If you don’t like the way it was writen, you are free to leave the country and go some where else!
we the people are the militia 24/7 365
AMEN,,,,TONY CARTER
$#%&!@* “FORMER JUSTICE STEPHENS”
The old crow’s demented.
NO changes. It was written the way it is for a very good reason. to prevent a tyrannical gvt and give the PEOPLE a fighting chance against one. They had just fought that very fight and the 2nd amendment speaks to it.. IT SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED
This old useless POS should keep his mouth shut. I will never relinquish my Constitutional rights to anyone or regime!
You think this old coot would know better, at what the original intent was, but he’s just as crazy as the rest of the control freaks in office, who want to kill your freedoms to have absolute rule by some SOB despot! This kind of idiot is why revolutions get started.
NO ! NO ! NO ! V