Harvard Crimson: The Second Amendment is an anachronism in need of repeal

Harvard Crimson: The Second Amendment is an anachronism in need of repeal (

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Submitted by Brother Sun on Mon, 2007/12/03 - 23:30.

I suggest each of us examine what happened to the countries who have already implemented such restrictions. I believe we will find that, by his argument, 2 plus 2 equals 5. It would behoove each of us to do further research in this area.

Submitted by doinkicarus on Mon, 2007/12/03 - 23:52.

I have nothing substantial to add that I haven't previously mentioned on more than one occasion, I have a few quick hits, and beg forgiveness if I do happen to reiterate a point or two which I deem to be especially worth reiterating. I charge the anonymous author with the following --- The Author

Ignores the number of lives that have been saved because some people have had the ability to defend themselves.
Has not even hinted at the validity of its assertions, especially the glaringly hypothetical "number of lives that might be saved..." and neglects to mention that all-important caveat, the assumption that all or most firearms will be instantly and irrevocably removed from the hands of violent and dangerous people, many of whom are already breaking local, state, or federal firearm laws and who are unlikely to miraculously start abiding laws if only we pass another one.
Fails to address the reality that empirical evidence on the efficacy of gun control is a mixed-bag at best. When empirical results are inconsistent, try to understand why the results are inconsistent with otherwise sound theory --- do not suggest that a sound theory is incompatible with reality. It is not.
Does not even pretend to refute the proposition that prohibition (of anything) has not in any instance been historically successful, indeed it is in direct opposition to the laws of economics.

The second Amendment may by some stretch be "outdated," only insofar as it's been completely emasculated by the Federal Government, which has taken to emasculating every other check against its nearly infinite power, under which circumstance it needs to be replaced with a more robust and irrefutable assertion of individual rights. The State can rarely protect you from other individuals, and it cannot conceivably protect you from itself.

However apocalyptically unlikely, it is this for this reason --- and this reason alone --- that the Second Amendment was enshrined in Constitution of the United States.

David Z, aka doinkicarus for Minister of Economics

"Don't fly those stripes, those stars & stripes for me; they stand for greed, they stand for hate, for nothing I believe."