Joe Biden butchered the Second Amendment last week.
The president signed an executive order on gun control and called on Congress to pass an “assault rifle” ban. (There is no such thing as an “assault rifle,” but that’s a subject for another day.)
But what about the Second Amendment?
No problem, according to Ol’ Joe because “no amendment is absolute.”
Joe’s constitutional interpretation has two glaring problems.
First, he seems to have a problem comprehending plain English. “Shall not be infringed” sounds pretty absolute to me. There are no “buts” in the Second Amendment. There are no asterisks. There is no disclaimer telling us “terms and conditions may apply.”
Second, Joe clearly doesn’t understand the Bill of Rights or even the basic structure of the U.S. Constitution.
The Second Amendment doesn’t “give” the people the right to keep and bear arms. It prohibits the federal government from infringing on a right that already exists. Furthermore, the Second Amendment isn’t even really necessary. Even without it, the federal government would still have very little power to regulate firearms. Nowhere does the Constitution delegate such power.
The federal government may only exercise delegated powers, with all others reserved to the states and the people. We find the only power delegated to Congress relating to weaponry in Art. I Sec. 8 – “arming…the Militia.” The Constitution nowhere authorizes any general federal firearms regulating authority.
Even so, under the original Constitution, the federal government could conceivably regulate firearms in the process of exercising another legitimate power. The Second Amendment slams that door shut.
Infringe – v: Act so as to limit or undermine (something); encroach on.
Shall not be infringed.
That, my friends, is absolute.
