Constitutional Debate of the Day

Question: Does the Constitution prohibit gun control?

Content of the 2nd Amendment:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Quick Argument #1 - YES - Gun control laws serve to encourage homicides rather than prevent them. The 10th Amendment bans federal gun control laws in addition to the 2nd. In case the government becomes tyrannical, we should have the right to bear arms. Applying gun control will still mean that guns are around, illegally or otherwise.

Quick Argument #2 - NO - The key phrase is "well regulated Militia." That doesn't refer to individuals, but rather a state military force. Individuals who arm themselves are a part of an armed rebellion that is against the 1st Amendment which calls for peaceful assemblies. It's law enforcement's job, not the citizen's, to protect.

Constitutional Debate of the Day

Question: Does the 13th Amendment prohibit the draft?

Content of the 13th Amendment:

Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Quick Argument #1 - YES - Involuntary servitude does indeed include being forced into the military. Joining the military is a matter of choice.

Quick Argument #2 - NO - Military service is not servitude. Conscription, even though it is seen as a last resort, is no different than other required civic duties like being on a jury.