Michael He misinterprets the Second Amendment. The Second Amendment mandates that the right to keep and bear arms not be infringed. “A well regulated Militia, being necessary for the security of a free State,” is only a justification for why it mandates such. Irrelevant of whether or not one is a member of a militia, the Second Amendment still grants one the right to bear arms.
If the Second Amendment was to be interpreted as Michael He suggests, it would have been worded like Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 of the Constitution: “The Congress shall have the Power…To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.” The clear meaning here is that Congress may only pass copyright or or patent laws in order to promote the Progress of Science and the useful Arts. The Second Amendment, however, was not worded like this.
As a concluding comment, Michael He’s proposal, though it might work, is classist. At $1000/bullet, his proposal would make self-protection by firearms impossible for the poor. It would also unfortunately expand the black market for ammunitions.
–David Heinrichdh003i@mail.rochester.edu424-3232P.S.: If you publish my letter, please do not publish my phone-number, though feel free to publish my e-mail; I do not want people calling me.
