Clinton couldn't abolish the Second Amendment even if she wanted to--and she doesn't

By BERRY CRAIG

AFT Local 1360

"I can't vote for her," the guy said, shaking his head at my blue Hillary Clinton for president yard sign. "She'll repeal the Second Amendment."

I wish I had a dollar for every time I've heard that claim from GOP presidential hopeful Donald Trump, a Trump surrogate or a Trump rank-and-filer like the retiree.

Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., a Trump supporter, told MSNBC that Clinton "said she's going to wipe out the Second Amendment." Politifact pointed out that's false. 

"The Supreme Court has ruled the Second Amendment guarantees the right of citizens to bear arms, wrote Politifact's Dan Clark. "Clinton supports gun control policies that gun-rights advocates call contrary to its interpretation." 

He added that in her speech to the Democratic National Convention, Clinton said she was "not here to repeal the Second Amendment." Clark also wrote that in an interview on ABC's 'This Week,' Trump's Democratic rival for president said she believes "we can have common-sense gun safety measures consistent with the Second Amendment."

Further, there's not a plank in Clinton's presidential platform that calls for abolishing the Second Amendment. The platform mirrors Clinton's views.

"While responsible gun ownership is part of the fabric of many communities, too many families in America have suffered from gun violence," the platform says. "We can respect the rights of responsible gun owners while keeping our communities safe." 

Anyway, Clinton couldn't erase the Second Amendment even if she wanted to. No president can abolish anything in the constitution single-handedly.

It would take another amendment to repeal the Second Amendment. For example, the 18th Amendment, ratified in 1919, ushered in prohibition. The 21st Amendment, ratified in 1933, repealed prohibition.

There are only two ways to amend the constitution.

First, the states can call a constitutional convention. That requires a two-thirds majority of all 50 state legislatures. We haven't had such a gathering since the Philadelphia convention that framed our national charter in 1787.

Second, amendments can originate in Congress. But amendments aren't easy to pass.

More than 11,500 proposed amendments have been introduced since the first federal Congress in 1789. Congress has approved 33, but only 27 have been ratified. 

The constitution says amendments require a two-thirds majority of the House and Senate. If an amendment clears that pretty steep hurdle, it doesn't become part of the constitution until three-fourths of the states ratify it.

So there's no way Clinton's election could lead to a Second Amendment repeal. Even if the Democrats retake the Senate and House, they won't come anywhere close to a two-thirds majority in either chamber.

Maybe I've missed it. But I've yet to hear a Democrat senator or representative flat call for repealing the amendment.

At the same time, there is no way the requisite 38 states would ratify an amendment overturning the Second Amendment.

"Facts are stubborn things," observed John Adams, our second president. "And whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence."

Trump has built his whole campaign on pandering to "wishes," "inclinations" and the "dictates of...passion" and on altering "facts and evidence."