PASSAGE FROM NY TIMES

REVISITING THE CONSTITUTION: DO WE REALLY NEED THE SECOND AMENDMENT?
Article by Melynda Price

"I am not naïve enough to believe that doing away with the Second Amendment would do away with gun violence, but I know firsthand the impact of guns and gun shots on children. This nation was constructed and reconstructed in the aftermath of violent and bloody conflicts. Still, the Framers believed that not only the Constitution, but also the peaceful way the document was created, would penetrate the Americans' minds and change they engaged. The Constitution would be the only weapon needed unless there was an external enemy."

In this passage, the author is implying the idea that we may be better off without the second amendment which gives the people the right to keep and bear arms. She adds in a personal note which is that she personally knows the impact that guns can have, even to children. The quote I found most interesting in this passage was "This nation was constructed and reconstructed in the aftermath of violent and bloody conflicts" I found this very true and thought back to many events in which the nation was changed due to ugly conflicts. One that came to mind was the civil war. Melynda makes it clear that she knows getting rid of the second amendment won't get completely stop gun violence, but she is hoping it would in some way help reduce the amount of gun violence we have now.

I chose this passage because it is a very interesting one in that there can be so many arguments with and against this article. In a way I would agree with her in the sense that if we did not have the second amendment it may make it a little harder for unauthorized people to get a hold of guns which can reduce gun violence. On the other hand if we do away with the right to bear arms, the people who really contain guns for safety will no longer have the right to protect themselves in that way. It would not be an easy decision if it were ever to be up for discussion but the negative side to doing away with the second amendment would be that it would not completely end gun violence and those who would of had guns for protection would be unprotected.