ANALYSIS/OPINION:
In a recent New York Times commentary, former U.S. Supreme Court[1] Associate Justice John Paul Stevens[2] argued that the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution — the one that acknowledges the “right to keep and bear arms” — is a “relic of the 18th century.” Justice Stevens[3] wants “a constitutional amendment to get rid of the Second Amendment” as a simple way to fight the National Rifle Association, which blocks gun-control legislation.
Citizens might wonder what would happen if Justice Stevens[4] got his way. A simple series of tests might prove helpful.
• Order a pizza and calculate time until delivery. Now remember that violent criminals do not obey gun-control laws, so the first time an armed assailant appears at your house, calculate the time it takes police to arrive.
• Imagine you are attending a holiday party in a government office in San Bernardino, California. Two terrorists enter with AR-15 “assault” rifles and begin shooting. Determine what might happen if you have a handgun. Compare that with what might happen if you are unarmed.
• Research the Los Angeles riots of 1992, when mobs torched and looted businesses. If such a mob threatened your store or home, imagine what you might do with a rifle or handgun. Contrast that with what might happen if you have no firearm.
• You are out for a walk on Halloween in New York City when a man in a truck starts running down pedestrians. Imagine how you could stop this attack with a handgun. Contrast that with the outcome if the driver should find you unarmed.
• Imagine too that you lived under the kind of regime the Nazis imposed. As author Stephen P. Halbrook showed in “Gun Control
