European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 22, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday March 22, 1991 the stars and stripes Page 13commentary George f. Will Washington two staggering facts about today Samerica Are the carnage that is a consequence of virtually uncontrolled private ownership of guns and americans toleration of that carnage. A _ Quot a a a a a a class not racial Bias explains toleration of scandals such As this More teenage males die from gunfire than from All natural causes combined. And a Black male teen Ager is 11 times More Likely than a White counterpart to be killed by a Bullet. If sons of the confident assertive articulate Middle class regardless of race were dying in such epidemic numbers gun control would be considered a National imperative. But another reason americans live with a gun policy that is demonstrably disastrous is that the subject was cons Titu Tion Alicd 200 years ago this year in the second amendment a 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  Many gun control advocates argue that the unique 13-word preamble stipulates the amendments purpose in a Way that severely Narrows constitutional Protection of gun ownership. They say the amendment obviously provides no Protection of individuals gun ownership for private purposes. They say it Only provides an anachronistic Protection of states rights to maintain militias. However Sanford Levinson of the University of Texas Law school says that is far from obvious. In a Yale Law journal article a the embarrassing second amendment a he makes an argument that is dismaying to those like me who favor both strict gun control and strict construction of the Constitution. He begins with some historical philology showing that the 18th-Century meaning of a a militia makes even the amendments preamble problematic. He notes that if the founders wanted Only to protect states rights to maintain militias they could have said simply a Congress shall have no Power to prohibit state  George Mason a sophisticated Virgini an who faulted the Constitution because it lacked a Bill of rights said a who arc the militia they consist now of the whole  the second amendment is second Only to the first amendments protections of free speech religion and Assembly because Levinson argues the second amendment is integral to americans anti statist theory of Republican government. That theory says that free individuals must be Independent from coercion and such Independence depends in part on Freedom from the menace of standing armies and government monopoly on the Means of Force. In the most important supreme court Case concerning Congress right to regulate private gun ownership the court upholding the conviction of a Man who failed to Register his sawed off Shotgun stressed the irrelevance of that weapon to a Well regulated militia. Gun control advocates argue that this lends no support to a constitutional right to ownership for private purposes. But Levinson notes that the courts ruling far from weakening the second amendment As a control on Congress can be read As supporting extreme Antigua control arguments defending the right to own weapons such As assault rifles that Are relevant to modern warfare. The Foremost founder Madison stressed in federalist paper 46 a the advantage of being armed which the americans possess Over the people of almost every other  so Central was the second amendment to the understanding of americans political order that chief Justice Taney in the dred Scott decision said proof that Blacks could not be citizens is the fact that surely the founders did not imagine them having the right to possess arms. The subject of gun control reveals a role reversal Between liberals and conservatives that makes both sides seem tendentious. Liberals who usually argue that constitutional rights of criminal defendants for example must be respected regardless of inconvenient social consequences say the second amendment right is too costly to Honor. Conservatives who frequently favor applying Cost Bene fit analyses to constitutional construction of defendants rights for example adv Power Burns Cate an absolutist construction of the second amendment. The Bill of rights should be modified Only with extreme reluctance but America has an extreme crisis of gunfire. And impatience to Deal with it can cause less than scrupulous readings of the Constitution. Whatever right the second amendment protects is not As important As it was 200 years ago when the requirements of self defense and food gathering made gun ownership almost Universal. But whatever the right is there it is. The National Rifle association is perhaps Correct and certainly is plausible in its a a Strong Reading of the second amendment Protection of private gun ownership. Therefore gun control advocates who want to Square their policy preferences with the Constitution should squarely face the need to de Constitution Alize the subject by repealing the embarrassing  Post writers group James j. Kilpatric kit s open season on the Constitution Washington a poor old Constitution look at what congressional doctors Are proposing. As of March 15, no fewer than 88 resolutions of constitutional amendment had been introduced. And two of them actually have been approved by a subcommittee in the Senate. A a lust that a what it is a a lust for innovation. By my tally 24 resolutions would mandate a balanced Federal budget. You could Trade the whole lot of them for 24 old ticket stubs and a copy of the congressional record. Seven would give a president the Power of a line item veto. Seven others would punish desecration of the Flag. Six would Deal with abortion and five would authorize prayer in schools and other Public buildings. That is Only the beginning. Sen. Edward Kennedy d-mass., and rep. Don Edwards d-calif., have resurrected the old proposal to say that equal rights under the Law a. Whatever that Means a shall not be denied on account of sex. That particular Turkey flopped around for 10 years before it collapsed in 1982. Rep. Charles e. Bennett d-fla., and rep. Alan wheat d-mo., would perform major surgery on article ii. They would abolish the whole system of presidential election through state electors. The changes would provide for direct election by the people. Several resolutions Deal with the sensitive matter of congressional salaries. Rep. Robert Lagomarsino r-calif., would delay any increase in the members pay until after an intervening election to the House. This is not exactly an innovation. The same amendment was approved by Congress in 1789. It failed to win ratification at the time but the proposal is still actively pending. Thirty two states reportedly have ratified leaving Only four to go before we could have a merry time in the Federal courts. Rep. Andrew Jacobs d-ind., has introduced a cryptic Resolution. Its purpose is a to repeal clause 11, of Section 8, of article i of the  that is All it says. By my count clause 11 is the clause that permits Congress to declare War Grant letters of Marque and reprisal and make rules concerning captures on land and water. And thinking of repeal resolutions Republican Guy Vander Jagt of Michigan wants to get rid of the 22nd amendment altogether. This is the amendment that limits a president to two terms. On the matter of term limitation half a dozen resolutions Are in the Hopper. One would limit a president to six years with no Chance to seek a second term. Another would limit members of the hous to three terms of four years each. Rep. Phil Crane r-uj., would Amend the Constitution to say that no person could be elected to the Senate More than once. The Crane amendments chances in the Senate Are not regarded As especially hot. Rep. Jack Fields a Texas would require that Federal judges be reconfirmed by the Senate every 10 years. Rep. James Sensenbrenner r-wis., would Cut through the red tape of impeachment by authorizing the . Supreme court to remove a judge for cause. Some other notable resolutions Are kicking around. Rep. William Dickinson r-ala., would write into the Constitution an amendment requiring that Only the English language could be used for official proceedings. Rep. Bill Emerson r-mo., has a proposal that requires a Little syntactical attention he would prohibit a compelling the attendance of a student in a Public school other than the Public school nearest the residence of such  there Are lots More. One proposal deals with presidential pardons these could be granted Only after conviction. Another Resolution would require the government to guarantee everyone a Job. Several proposals Deal with financing congressional elections. Thus far Only two proposals of constitutional amendment have gone anywhere. A Senate subcommittee has reported two proposals to mandate a balanced budget one from sen. Paul Simon d-ill., the other from sen Arlen Specter a a. During the last Congress the Senate judiciary committee approved a similar Resolution of futility and Folly. The Resolution never made it to the floor. A couple of old conservative principles apply one of them teaches us that if it is not necessary to Amend the Constitution it is necessary not to Amend the Constitution. The other is to the same effect if it ainu to broke done to fix it. A c univ Sal press Syndicate