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Photo taken from deck of Warren's home.

Stop Talking About “The Second Amendment”

Gun rights activists, stop talking about “The Second Amendment.”

As a life-long defender of the U.S. Constitution’s protection of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (RKBA), I rarely mention “The Second Amendment.” I encourage other RBKA activists to do the same. Speak instead about “The Constitution.”

First off, I don’t know of any gun-rights activst who defends only the one small part of the Constitution that is the Second Amendment. We tend to support the entire Constitution. The Second Amendment is no less a part of the Constitution than any other part. It is the Constitution — the highest law of the land — that protects your RKBA. Don’t be shy about pointing that out!

Secondly, RKBA detractors disparage the Second Amendment as an anachronism. It’s harder to disparage “the Constitution” like that. Just dare them to say that the Constitution no longer applies today. Don’t pin-point the Second Amendment for them so they can attack this one small part of the Constitution. Wrap your argument in the entire Constitution and make it harder for them to disparage it.

And, while I’m at it, don’t talk about RKBA as a “Constitutional right.” Instead, use the somewhat wordier “Constitutionally-protected right.” Why, and what is the difference?

“Constitutional right” implies that RKBA itself comes from the Constitution and we all know that RKBA existed long before there wasa Constitution, long, long before there was a Federal Government.

The Constitution does not confer RKBA, it protects a preexisting Right to Keep and Bear Arms. So, never say, “I have a Constitutional right to keep and bear amrs.” Instead, say, “My right to keep and bear arms is protected by the Constitution.” It’s not a “Constitutional right,” it’s a “Constitutionally protected right.”

So, talk up the Constitution instead of the Second Amendment.

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