I wonder how the people of New Town with the Sandy Hook Elementary school feel about gun control? And the people of a long list of other municipalities under similar circumstances? While we again morn the dead, we need to hopefully start an action to change a eighteenth century vision of life and technology in the second amendment and move forward to a twenty-first vision of life and technology while keeping a modern vision of American principles of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Under the adage "all politics is local", I believe the following is possibly the best path ahead, in that it places directly in local hands the responsibility and accountability for gun control:
• Vote to repeal the second amendment which states " 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."
• Vote to pass an amendment which states "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall be decided by vote at the lowest political subdivision [To Be Revised]"
The above repeal/pass has been done in the past with the eighteenth and twenty-first amendments. The eighteenth was a national law which imposed prohibition. The repeal of prohibition was accomplished with the passage of the Twenty-first Amendment on December 5, 1933. By its terms, states were allowed to set their own laws for the control of alcohol. This proposal is similar, in that it passes to the states and below the responsibility and accountability.
The language of the proposed amendment probably needs some legalistic correction. What I believe the amendment should imply under for example of a political division of state, county, city, is that if the city passes a law related to gun control then within the city the law holds, but if the county has passed a law, this law would not apply within a city in that county which passed its own law. Thus in a rural dominated county which had the majority of votes and they voted for no gun control within the county, a city within the county could pass a gun control law. Thus we would pass to locale population the responsibility and accountability for gun laws.
I suspect that mayors of every major and midsize city would support this process. Similarly jurisdictions with vastly uninhabited locations with a strong hunting history should be able to pass hunting related gun laws. Thus local elected officials would be responsible and accountable to the local population.
How is the constitution amended? Article V of the Constitution prescribes how an amendment can become a part of the Constitution. While there are two ways, only one has ever been used. All Amendments have been ratified after two-thirds of the House and Senate approve of the proposal and send it to the states for a vote. Then, three-fourths of the states must affirm the proposed Amendment.
I suggest the congressional members of the House and Senate from Connecticut immediately proposed the above. While the above proposed amendment may not be perfect, it hopefully will cause some type of action within the Congress. Then a to be formed concerned group (New York Mayor Bloomberg are you interested in leading?) should follow the path of this proposal or a acceptable proposal through Congressional committees and related. We need to see who really wants to solve this concern and who does not. As a proposal gains within the Congress, actions have to happen within States so that they will affirm the Congressionally approved wording.