For Democratic politicians, the Second Amendment can be a political trap.
Just ask Hillary Clinton, or Beto O’Rourke, or anyone in the long line who have been branded “gunmen” by Republican opponents and then faced defeat at the polls.
There is nothing more likely to ruin vast rural areas of America than to question the right to bear arms.
Following the latest devastating shooting at a mass school in the United States, Joe Biden’s choice of language, saying the Second Amendment “is not absolute,” could risk it. For many American gun owners, it is absolute. The United States is as divided about the right to bear arms as it is about any issue.
A recent Yahoo News / YouGov poll showed that 47% of Americans believe gun controls should be stricter, while 44% believe they should stay the same or be less stringent.
When the National Rifle Association gathers for its annual convention in Texas this weekend, Mr. Biden’s comments will be used as a demonstration cry.
As he has done many times before, Donald Trump will tell the NRA crowd that Democrats are trying to “destroy your beautiful second amendment.”
What is the second amendment?
The arguments put forward by both parties are based on different interpretations of what the Second Amendment really means, as ratified in 1791.
He says: “A well-regulated militia, being necessary for the security of a free state, will not violate the right of the people to have and carry weapons.”
What are “Weapons” and what is an “offense” is open to interpretation.
Democrats argue that AR-15s were not like “Weapons” 231 years ago. Many Republicans believe banning them would be an “offense.”
“You can’t have a cannon”
Biden has argued that the Second Amendment never allowed people to possess devastating weapons, not even two centuries ago.
He said this week: “When it was passed you could not have a cannon, you could not possess certain types of weapons. There have always been limitations.”
However, he has repeatedly made the “cannon” argument before and has denied it.
A fact-finding check by the Washington Post last year concluded, “We have no idea where he came up with this idea of banning gun ownership in the early days of the Republic, but he must stop making that claim.”