Letter: The Second Amendment has not accomplished what it intended
Myron Bishop (“Second Amendment isn’t outdated,” TCH, Aug. 31) reminds me of Patrick Henry, author of the Second Amendment.
Patrick Henry expected his heavily armed Virginians would forever preserve Virginia’s institution of slavery against federal overreach. The Second Amendment has never accomplished anything it intended. Myron Bishop depends on this obsolete reliance for similar magical powers.
Guns have no “ability to defend” us against dictatorship — corrupt politicians and corporations redistricting (gerrymandering) with cyber-technology, reducing and eliminating voting rights, and “forgetting” to count ballots from districts favoring political opponents.
Military-type weaponry is neither “essential liberty,” nor can it make anybody free or safe. Apparently, Myron Bishop and Keith Goodenough assume if they buy all the merchandise in gun shows, including 30 rounds per magazine, they can overthrow our military.
Like it or not, “the right to bear arms” means our government will always “dictate the terms for living in our society.” If you don’t believe this, try waving a gun in a courtroom.
Keith Goodenough forgot our Constitution is flexible — it’s been amended 27 times, most recently in 1971 and 1992. Its 1865 Thirteenth Amendment, abolishing slavery, also abolished the Second Amendment’s original purpose. Meanwhile, gun possession increases the likelihood of being burglarized, and being shot.
Joy K. Rasch, Kennewick
This story was originally published September 27, 2016 at 4:08 AM with the headline "Letter: The Second Amendment has not accomplished what it intended."