The document discusses the potential dangers of repealing the Second Amendment. It notes that several amendments in the Bill of Rights were designed to work together and support each other. Repealing the Second Amendment could diminish the protections of other amendments by disrupting this interlocking system. Additionally, repealing the Second Amendment would not actually reduce the number of firearms in the country. The Constitution was intentionally designed as an interlocking system of restraints on the federal government, and tampering with the Bill of Rights could establish a precedent for weakening these important protections.

1. HURT THE CONSTITUTION?
C O U L D A S E C O N D A M E N D M E N T R E P E A L
M I C H E A L G . S H E P P A R D

2. THE CONGRESSIONAL
AMENDMENT
PROCESS
There are two methods by
which the states can amend
the United States Constitution.
Both are described in Article V.
The first is for Congress to pass
a resolution by a two-thirds
vote of both houses. This
resolution is then presented to
the states for ratification. If
three-quarters of the state
legislatures ratify the
resolution, it immediately
becomes a constitutional
amendment.

3. THE CONVENTION
AMENDMENT
PROCESS
The second method is for
the states to convene a
Constitutional Convention.
At this convention, a draft
amendment or
amendments can be agreed
upon and then presented to
the states for ratification.
Three-quarters of the state
legislatures would still have
to ratify the draft
amendment before it
became part of the
Constitution.

4. THE DANGER
What many people don’t realize about the United States Constitution is that several of the
first ten amendments, known colloquially as the Bill of Rights, interlock. This means they
were written to work together. For example, the First Amendment is highly dependent on
the Second Amendment for protection. The Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Eighth Amendments
work together to protect criminal defendants. The Ninth and Tenth establish the rights of
the states.
If a part of the Bill of Rights like the Second Amendment is repealed, it will have a
dramatic effect, and it will serve to diminish the other amendments and the rights they
recognize. The Second Amendment is of particular concern, as its repeal will do nothing to
reduce the number of firearms in the country already.

5. THE NATURE OF THE
CONSTITUTION
It is important that every
American recognize the
Constitution is meant to
function as an interlocking
system of obstacles written to
restrain the federal
government. A powerful
central authoritarian
government is precisely what
the United States was formed
to avoid. Tampering with the
original protections enshrined
in the Bill of Rights would be a
reckless and very dangerous
precedent that would be
unlikely to start and stop with
just the Second Amendment.