Who Holds the Responsibility for Parkland Shooting: Second Amendment, Politicians or NRA?

The manslaughter that America witnessed on 14^th Feb has utterly shook the world and has started the burning discussions on the current gun policies of the country. This unfortunate incident has not only brought the gun policies under speculation, but it has also dragged the famous Second Amendment that protects the right of the US citizens ‘to keep and bear arms’ in the discussion. Earlier also, there have been several discussions between the NRA, government and the public regarding gun control, but this time, the perspective has been completely changed due to the bloodshed and the circumstances related to it. Before going further, let’s jog down the memory lane and know what exactly happened.

During the sunny afternoon of 14^th February when the whole world was celebrating Valentine’s Day, the day of love, a student named Nikolas Cruz, age 19 years entered the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. He was armed with AR-15 which is a semi-automatic assault rifle and activated the fire alarm. In this way, he lured the students out in corridors and hallways where he opened fire, killing 17 students and injuring 14 others. According to the gun rights activists and the critics, there are certain loopholes in the Second Amendment that has helped America to top as the leader of mass shootings.

Well, we are no gun rights lawyer or policy maker to comment on the loopholes, but one thing indeed has been highlighted. The Second Amendment was introduced in the Constitution of the USA some 227 years ago. Till then, the gun industry has seen a tremendous revolution or in other words, our guns have been changed according to the times, but our gun laws are the same. If you just have a look at the timeline of Second Amendment, it has withstood all the tests of the time, unwavered and unchallenged. But 2008 halted this course when the Supreme Court brought it under speculation and questioned the nature of the rights that this amendment was protecting. During the case of Heller v District Columbia, a panel of four justices asserted that the right to bear guns or arms was only compatible with the time of the 18^th century where there was a “well regulated militia”. But a majority favored the amendment!

Whether negating Second Amendment would lower down such mass shooting in the US: it is one of the many questions that is impossible to answer right now. But this is definitely going to be a question for academics as any change in the Constitution requires the approval of two-third majority both in the House and Senate with three-quarters of the states. Rather asking the above question, we have a better one: is repealing the amendment only solution left for gun control and the answer, hopefully, is NO.

According to the late justice Antonin Scalia, “Nothing in Heller should be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings.” In other words, all the gun policies and regulations that are under speculation right now would easily pass through the Constitutional muster. So, the bottom line is that it is not the Second Amendment that is posing a threat to the gun control bills. All it takes is the political will of the state and federal government to put a noose on the otherwise loosely regulated and powerful firearm policies and that also through the Constitution.

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Created on Mar 21st 2018 02:28. Viewed 482 times.

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