Does the Second Amendment still make sense in the U.S.?

Frontiersman editorial board

Amendment II. 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.

"… from my cold, dead hands." Sportsmen and gun enthusiasts often feel as passionate about the Second Amendment as journalists do about the First. As with most of the amendments that make up the Bill of Rights, the language leaves enough interpretive room to spark intense debate.

In a time when violent crimes dominate the headlines, and when the incidence of violent crime in the U.S. greatly outpaces violence in other industrial countries, the issue of gun ownership has been one of the most hotly contested topics for decades. As with any intense, long-running debate, the truth may be hard to get at, now that it's been clouded by years of well-rehearsed rhetoric and over-interpreted data.

Anti-gun-control-people like to remind us that "Guns don't kill people; people kill people." Gun-control advocates would rather point out that "Actually, people with guns kill people." Of course, like all rhetorical statements, they both seem to make some sense.

In a place like Alaska, the gun-control debate resonates even louder than in many other places. In our rural state, where hunting and fishing are not merely pastimes, but are part of our way of life, the thought of depriving law-abiding citizens of their guns seems unthinkable. In other places, where city streets are the daily scene of violence, and where a legal moose is not likely to be spotted, concerned citizens wonder why guns are so easily obtained, and what practical good they serve.

Is it enough to interpret the Second Amendment literally, without regard to the way our society has changed? Has the proliferation of handguns and other weapons not suited for hunting made it all to easy for criminals to do greater harm, and for law-abiding citizens to make dreadful mistakes? Perhaps, like so many laws, the Second Amendment is best interpreted at the local level, by people who understand the needs and tendencies of their communities.

Editor's note: This is the second in a series of editorials examining amendments that make up the Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution. We invite our readers to submit their views.