The Virginia Massacre and the Right to Bear Arms

By Brigitte L. Nacos
In no other comparable democracy and civilized society is it as easy to acquire guns and rifles legally €”and illegally--as it is in the United States This is not a new revelation but simply one of the facts of the American exceptionalism that is inconceivable to people in comparable democracies. The shooting spree by an obviously deranged young man should reopen the debate surrounding this country’s adherence to a more than 200-year old constitutional amendment that should have been abandoned a long time ago. Never mind that presidential candidate Senator John McCain reaffirmed his support for the right to bear arms in reaction to the massacre at Virginia Tech. According to the Associated Press, McCain said, “I do believe in the constitutional right that everyone has, in the Second Amendment to the Constitution, to carry a weapon. Obviously we have to keep guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens." He did not say how to keep guns out of the hands of non-law-abiding citizens like the troubled Virginia Tech student. He was able to by the lethal hand weapons--and go on killing sprees. How can we continue to let this happen?

In case you do not remember the Second Amendment of the Bill of Rights, here it is:

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

This seemed a reasonable constitutional provision at the time it was enacted. After all, at that time there were no sophisticated police departments, national guards, FBI-like agencies or military forces as they exist today. The common sense behind the amendment was, no doubt, the recognition of a need for citizen militias for defensive purposes and thus for armed citizens that were available for serving in militias in times of need.

In modern times, the idea that everyone who has not (yet) collided with the law must have the right to own and bear arms is as nonsensical as is the constitutional provision that counted a slave only as three fifth of a free person in weighing congressional districts. With respect to the Second Amendment—and other issues--, we have yet to overcome constitutional provisions explained by the prejudices and limitations of their time but no longer justifiable and a matter of common sense in our times.

In the whole of the United Kingdom, there were far fewer murders by hand guns last year than in the city of New York. The comparisons are similarly lopsided, when you compare relevant American statistics with western European advanced industrial democracies.

So, is there a chance to finally enact gun laws that keep these weapons out the hands of anyone who wants them--except for those with licenses for professional and (when it comes to hunters) for recreational purposes? Everyone in politics knows that the answer is NO!  Pro-gun lobbies, led by the American Rifle Association, have great influence in the legislative and executive branches €”not only because of their campaign contributions but also because of their influence on voters in key states. 

All the heartfelt sympathy expressed for the victims of Virginia Tech on the part of President Bush, Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, and many members of the Congress will not do any good €”unless all of them, Republicans and Democrats, do the right thing, finally: Get rid of the right to own and bear arms, enact tough gun laws, and save day-in and day-out many lives.