I wish Petula Dvorak had the answer to gun violence in her Nov. 25 Metro column, “Need some hope on gun violence? Look at cigarettes, seat belts.” But there is an obstacle to changing the gun culture that does not exist for cigarettes, seat belts and required helmets for motorcycle drivers. Unlike with gun ownership, the Constitution does not protect the right to smoke, leave your seat belt unbuckled and ride your motorcycle bareheaded.
Supreme Court decisions on regulating guns have demonstrated that the law is on the side of gun owners. And the court’s rulings encourage the glut of firearms. The latest example is the Supreme Court decision in June that Americans have a right to carry guns outside the home.
The constant daily shootings that fill the news indicate that our dear Constitution, that late-18th-century document, woefully needs an upgrade. Gun violence is one example of the supreme law of the land no longer working for us the way it should. Until we stop treating this obsolete statute like a holy book and bring it up to date, firearm proliferation and the tragedy it brings will continue to plague us.
Steve Bailey, Richmond