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Retired US Supreme Court judge backs anti-gun violence protests; wants Second Amendment repealed

By Shubham
|
Google Oneindia News

Throwing weight behind the students and protesters who joined the 'March For Our Lives' rallies demanding a control on gun violence on Saturday, March 24, retired justice of the US Supreme Court John Paul Stevens felt the demonstrators should also seek the Second Amendment of the country's constitution repealed.

Retired US Supreme Court judge backs anti-gun violence protests; wants Second Amendment repealed

In an op-ed penned for The New York Times on Tuesday, March 26, Stevens said the amendment was adopted after it was felt that a national standing army might pose a threat to the security of the separate states. It was adopted in the late 18th century bit in today's circumstances, the retired judge called it as a "relic".

Justice Stevens was against the landmark judgment of 2008 on gun rights

Justice Stevens, who will turn 98 next month, has been known for giving judicial rulings even if he remained a Republican throughout his life. He had dissented in a landmark case in 2008 (District of Columbia v. Heller) which had said that the Second Amendment protected an individual's right to possess an arm for self-protection in his home.

Stevens rued the ruling saying it had only boosted the National Rifle Association (NRA) which advocates gun rights. Stevens said overturning the decade-old verdict by means of a constitutional amendment would be simple and weaken the NRA's capacity to obstruct gun control legislation.

The nonagenarian, who served as the associate justice of the Supreme Court between 1975 and 2010, said he did not see in his lifetime the kind of demonstration students and their supporters showed in Washington DC and other major cities the last weekend.

He said such demonstrations "demanded justice" as they make it evident that the people are in favour of laws to minimise the danger of mass killings.

Trump didn't say anything about protests

US President Donald Trump was reportedly busy with golf engagements at his private resort in Florida while the protests took place and did not care to utter any word on them.

Moreover, gun sale in the US has seen a decline in the last two years because people are feeling it less urgent to stockpile firearms because they have found Trump a gun-friendly incumbent who would do little in controlling gun rights. He also said that he is a great fan of the NRA.

OneIndia News

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