Former Supreme Court Justice Calls for Repealing the Second Amendment

John Paul Stevens outlines the reasons for constitutional change in a New York Times op-ed.

Former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens testifies before the Senate Committee on Campaign Finance on Capitol Hill April 30, 2014 in Washington, DC. Stevens is testifying on a hearing entitled "Dollars and Sense: How Undisclosed Money and Post-McCutcheon Campaign Finance Will Affect 2014 and Beyond". (Photo by Allison Shelley/Getty Images)
Former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens testifies before the Senate Committee on Campaign Finance on Capitol Hill April 30, 2014 in Washington, DC. Stevens is testifying on a hearing entitled "Dollars and Sense: How Undisclosed Money and Post-McCutcheon Campaign Finance Will Affect 2014 and Beyond". (Photo by Allison Shelley/Getty Images)
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Former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens endorsed repealing the Second Amendment in a new editorial for the New York Times. Stevens, who was inspired by the mass participation in Saturday’s March for Our Lives, argues that activists should dream bigger than raising the age of gun ownership and banning semiautomatic weapons. The central concern of the Second Amendment, the right of states to maintain a well-regulated militia to protect against the federal government, is “a relic of the 18th Century,” according to Stevens. The 2008 Supreme Court decision in District of Columbia v. Heller ruled that an individual right to bear arms exists, a ruling which Stevens believes has had catastrophic consequences and aided the NRA immeasurably. As Stevens argues, a constitutional change should be the goal for young protesters.

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