Letter: Yes, it’s time to repeal the Second Amendment

Thank you for printing Mark Lewis’ column about gun violence in the United States. The statistics he cites are horrifying. He suggests rewriting the Second Amendment, and I’m glad to see I’m not the only one wanting to put that idea out there. Whenever I’ve suggested it in conversations, I’ve gotten a bunch of naysaying: “That will never happen.”

But this has gotten so stupid, so scary, so out of control that it has to happen. The Second Amendment should outline a right to keep and bear the current version of the arms that were available to the citizens at the time the amendment was written (hunting rifles). We have to reject the idea that mass shootings, especially those involving assault rifles, are a price we all have to pay for the right that’s currently guaranteed in the Second Amendment.

Some people think the Second Amendment is there to prevent the populace from being victimized by a tyrannical government. From what I’ve seen, a certain subset of these people can be scarier than my government has ever been — and they actually seem to be OK with tyranny, so long as it’s their kind of tyranny. I’m pretty sure they aren’t the “well-regulated militia” envisioned when the amendment was written. That phrase was included because at the time our country had no professional army, which motivated the creation of the amendment.

The courage it will take to fix this problem is eclipsed every day by the courage it takes our kids and their teachers to return to school after the latest shooting. The Second Amendment should be repealed and a rewritten one ratified. Only voters can convince Congress to make this happen — and demand that they have the courage to do it.

Debra DieterEagle