Debate on Second Amendment | News, Sports, Jobs – Williamsport Sun-Gazette

I was delighted to see at least two thoughtful responses to my op-ed on the Second Amendment.

Opponents to altering the Second Amendment frequently point to the Heller case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. I cited it as well. I agree that the Heller case is essential reading because both sides of the gun debate rely upon the writings of the Founders of this country. At the time the Second Amendment was adopted, there was much discussion and debate over what it was about and what it meant. Was the purpose of the Second Amendment to assure a government organized militia or to permit future citizens to own and utilize assault weapons not known at the time of the adoption of the Second Amendment?

The other letter brought up the frequent refrain of the European Holocaust which murdered 6 million Jews. It is true that the Jews of Europe were denied weapons when they most needed them, whether it was the Warsaw ghetto uprising or other attempts by Jews to escape the German-led extermination of European Jews. There may be few who know that Harry Truman imposed an arms embargo against the Jews fighting in Palestine to save other Jews from Europe and to protect themselves against Nazi-inspired Arabs in the Middle East.

However, it would be a terrible error to believe that the lack of guns alone killed Jews. It was plain and simply milennia of inbred anti-Semitism. The best proof of the fact that guns were not the only thing necessary to save Jews were the heroic actions of church leaders in Bulgaria, Italy, a small island off Greece and Denmark. In any country that resisted the Germans during World War II, Jews were saved. It was moral conscience that saved Jewish lives.

The allies refused to bomb the rail links leading to Auschwitz and other death camps. Clearly, lack of weapons and military support helped the Germans, Polish and Arabs murder Jews. However, an emphasis on guns and weapons alone would be a terrible distortion of history.

I am a proponent of the view that Jews should all learn self-defense, Krav Maga, and legally carry weapons after proper training and compliance with legal limitations, However, the salvation of the Jewish people today will be neither personal training nor guns, but rather a robust response to anti-Semitism, ancient and modern.

Respectful Second Amendment debate is a good thing and clearly, much more ink will be spilled before we get a handle on the carnage being caused by improper and illegal use of guns.

CLIFFORD A. RIEDERS

Williamsport

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Debate on Second Amendment | News, Sports, Jobs - Williamsport Sun-Gazette