To the Editor:

There is so much and too much blather over the “right to bear arms.” This is more often than not with reference to the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution.

How many people, however, have read what the Second Amendment actually says? Don’t say that you have not time to read it, for it is but one sentence long. Here it is verba-tim et totem: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to bear arms shall not be infringed.”

These concerns were valid at the time of the Second Amend-ment. Then it was directed at a militia arrangement, which was local or state at the most. Members would keep uniforms, equipment, and weapons at home and in good repair and readiness for short notice call up.

Sometimes these weapons were also hunting rifles or mus-kets of divers makes and sizes unless a uniform standard were issued for a unit.

The second clause of the sen-tence refers also to a longstand-ing fact of many persons being given to hunting to supplement their food supply, especially on the then ever-present and ever-expanding frontier areas. There, firearms also served for self-defense during Indian at-tacks. Sport hunting then was relegated mostly to Euro-pean gentry and nobility, includ-ing those of our then-recent en-emy.

With all of this to consider, is the Second Amendment really practical, useful, or valid today? I don’t think so, unless we enter into a policy of maintaining Na-tional Guard and reserve forces in the same manner as the Swiss military on a kind of mass min-uteman call-up plan with all supplies, equipment, weapons, and ammo furnished and paid for by the government.

For these reasons, the Second Amendment is out of date and invalid today. It is too often mis-interpreted, which contributes repeatedly to unspeakable and inhumane crimes and atrocities across our land.

The Second Amendment therefore needs to be repealed. It has long been obsolete and has long done far more harm than good.

John Wolcott

Slingerlands

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