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.
Thanks for reading InsideHook. Sign up for our daily newsletter and be in the know.