WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Noting broad public support for legislation to minimize the risk of mass shootings, retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens has suggested going a step further and repealing the Second Amendment.
Stevens said in a New York Times op-ed published Tuesday that recent demonstrations by high school students and their supporters offer a clear sign to lawmakers to enact legislation prohibiting civilian ownership of semi-automatic weapons, raising the minimum age to buy a gun, and establishing more comprehensive background checks.
'But the demonstrators should seek more effective and more lasting reform. They should demand a repeal of the Second Amendment,' Stevens wrote.
Stevens called the concerns that a national standing army might pose a threat to the security of the separate states that led to the adoption of the amendment a 'relic of the 18th century.'
The former Justice highlighted his dissent in the 2008 landmark District of Columbia v. Heller case that determined there was an individual right to bear arms under the Second Amendment.
'That decision - which I remain convinced was wrong and certainly was debatable - has provided the N.R.A. with a propaganda weapon of immense power,' Stevens wrote.
He added, 'Overturning that decision via a constitutional amendment to get rid of the Second Amendment would be simple and would do more to weaken the N.R.A.'s ability to stymie legislative debate and block constructive gun control legislation than any other available option.'
Stevens argued repealing the Second Amendment would bring the 'March for Our Lives' protesters closer to their objective than any other possible reform.
Chris Cox, executive director of the NRA's lobbying arm, said the op-ed from Stevens is a sign the gun-control lobby is no longer distancing themselves from the idea of repealing the Second Amendment and banning all firearms.
'The protestors in last week's march told us with their words and placards that the current debate is not about fake terms like 'commonsense' gun regulation. It's about banning all guns,' Cox said in a statement.
He added, 'The men and women of the National Rifle Association, along with the majority of the American people and the Supreme Court, believe in the Second Amendment right to self-protection and we will unapologetically continue to fight to protect this fundamental freedom.'
Stevens was nominated to the Supreme Court by Republican President Gerald Ford but was widely considered to have been on the liberal side of the court at the time of his retirement.
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