Letter to the Editor-Reader Addresses 2nd Amendment Resolution

I want to thank the Clare County Cleaver for its thorough report on the Second Amendment Resolution as it was presented to the Clare County Board of Commissioners at the last meeting. Based on what I read in the article, it would seem that some members would like some more information. From the comments by various commissioners, it would seem that few believe there is any good reason to think that the right to keep and bear arms is in any jeopardy. Perhaps another opinion would be welcome.

Stephen Breyer is a sitting Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. He is on record as stating that the Second Amendment is only a collective right, “which is not the right of an individual to keep a gun next to his bed.” What he is telling us is that, should a state or municipal government pass a law, or if a president should enact an executive order that says the common person may not possess a firearm in their home, that there is no constitutional basis to override this law or executive order. Note that Justice Breyer’s statement does not specify so-called assault rifles, or so-called high-capacity magazines, or so-called “weapons of war,” but applies to guns of any kind, whether it be a simple revolver, a shotgun, or a hunting rifle. In his opinion the meaning of the words “people” or “keep and bear” and “infringe” are open to interpretation.

It is not an overstatement to point out, in today’s political climate when individual rights are put at risk by the very institutions that are supposed to be protecting those rights, that retention of those individual rights is indeed tenuous. Adopting the Second Amendment Resolution would be an appropriate way for the Board of Commissioners to reaffirm their commitment to keeping those rights.

Dale Grigg

Harrison