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Trump Says Second Amendment ‘Will Never Be Repealed’ Trump Says Second Amendment ‘Will Never Be Repealed’
(35 minutes later)
WASHINGTON — President Trump said on Wednesday that the Second Amendment — the right to bear arms — “will never be repealed,” responding to an opinion piece written by a former Supreme Court justice who called for just that. WASHINGTON — President Trump said on Wednesday that the Second Amendment — the right to bear arms — “will never be repealed,” responding to an opinion piece written by a retired Supreme Court justice who called for just that.
Mr. Trump’s declaration in an early morning tweet came after days of silence on the subject, despite student-organized marches around the country over the weekend calling for more gun control.Mr. Trump’s declaration in an early morning tweet came after days of silence on the subject, despite student-organized marches around the country over the weekend calling for more gun control.
On Tuesday, the retired Justice John Paul Stevens wrote an Op-Ed in The New York Times calling for the repeal of the Second Amendment.On Tuesday, the retired Justice John Paul Stevens wrote an Op-Ed in The New York Times calling for the repeal of the Second Amendment.
“Rarely in my lifetime have I seen the type of civic engagement schoolchildren and their supporters demonstrated in Washington and other major cities throughout the country this past Saturday,” Mr. Stevens wrote. “These demonstrations demand our respect. They reveal the broad public support for legislation to minimize the risk of mass killings of schoolchildren and others in our society.”“Rarely in my lifetime have I seen the type of civic engagement schoolchildren and their supporters demonstrated in Washington and other major cities throughout the country this past Saturday,” Mr. Stevens wrote. “These demonstrations demand our respect. They reveal the broad public support for legislation to minimize the risk of mass killings of schoolchildren and others in our society.”
Mr. Stevens retired from the Supreme Court in 2010. He wrote a major dissent about the Second Amendment in one of the court’s hardest-fought decisions. Mr. Stevens argued that the amendment does not protect an individual’s right to own firearms.
“That decision — which I remain convinced was wrong and certainly was debatable — has provided the N.R.A. with a propaganda weapon of immense power,” Mr. Stevens wrote on Tuesday, referring to the National Rifle Association, the powerful gun lobbying group. “Overturning that decision via a constitutional amendment to get rid of the Second Amendment would be simple and would do more to weaken the N.R.A.’s ability to stymie legislative debate and block constructive gun control legislation than any other available option.”
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, indicated the administration was not considering a repeal of the Second Amendment.
“The president and the administration still fully support the Second Amendment,” Ms. Sanders said on Tuesday in response to a question about Mr. Stevens’s Op-Ed. “We think that the focus has to remain on removing weapons from dangerous individuals, not on blocking all Americans from their constitutional rights.”
Mr. Trump had the support of the N.R.A. early in his campaign for president. After the deadly mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., last month, Mr. Trump proposed stricter controls on access to guns, particularly raising the age to purchase an assault weapon to 21 from 18. After a meeting with the N.R.A., Mr. Trump no longer advocated for an age increase.
Instead, the White House — with the support of the N.R.A. — says appropriately trained teachers should be armed to respond to future mass shootings.
“Gun free zones are proven targets of killers,” Mr. Trump tweeted on March 1.
Arming teachers has been widely criticized, recently by people who gathered for marches for more gun control.
At a March for Our Lives demonstration in Anchorage, Alaska, on Saturday, Melanie Anderson, a 44-year-old middle school teacher, held up a sign that said “teacher, not sharp shooter.”