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Throughout history change has taken place. It is inevitable; absolutely nothing ever stays the same from the tiniest microscopic atom to the Universe.

Look into the mirror, or at your child and marvel at the changes time has influenced — the evidence is compelling and irrefutable.

Change not only impacts the physical but also ideas and philosophical beliefs.

The Constitution of the United States is over 242 years old. When the Framers crafted this document things were a lot different back then. This country was in survival mode from tyranny.

Hence a new nation was born along with a new Constitution and Bill of Rights to govern a new-founded land of freedom. And within those documents, the creation of the Second Amendment became the law of the land out of necessity.

There is no denying that during that time in our history, the applicability and force of its intentions was noble, built on solid justifications.

Such is not the case today. The Second Amendment must be repealed because the same justification no longer exists; the reality of modern society is different.

The results of today’s legal interpretations of what was crafted over two centuries ago is the murder and harming of people who the framers swore to protect — the weak, helpless, innocent, and defenseless.

If we subscribe to the fact that humans are vulnerable and subject to mistakes, logic dictates that the Second Amendment is no longer applicable to this era.

Our founding fathers were not any different than you and I. We, like they, made mistakes even with the best available information. They too did not have a crystal ball to look into the future, to predict what society is addressing today.

And while their intentions were admirable at the time, no thoughts were given to how destructive modern weaponry could be in the hands of deranged individuals. The creation of the AR-15, automatic firearms, silencers, and other weapons with the sole and only purpose of killing others — even innocent children, never crossed their minds.

Therefore, the burden to carry through with their true intent of keeping our citizens safe from harm falls heavily on our shoulders whether we like it or not.

Our founders had no idea that someday, based on a person’s “right” to own a firearm, an individual without cause or justification would walk into a school and murder defenseless men, women, and children. They had no thoughts of a sniper from a vantage point in a hotel would murder people enjoying an outdoor concert, or a disturbed person gun-down innocent people at work in a media news station.

These scenarios continue year after year and decade after decade, yet ‘We the People of the United States … to … establish Justice,” do absolutely nothing to correct what is blatantly wrong.

Could it happen here in Hawaii? Absolutely. Consider the event in 1999 where Bryan Uyesugi murdered seven of his co-workers with the use of a Glock 17 handgun at the Xerox Building on Nimitz Highway. Hawaii is not immune nor are you and our families protected from such random acts of violence.

Annually 2.6 million Americans die for a variety of reasons: heart disease, cancer, and respiratory problems being the top three. Also, between 40,000 and 35,000 people die on our roadways. In all of these cases, society and government has spent millions if not billions of dollars towards safety and prevention.

Yet no such effort is forthcoming regarding the use of firearms. In 2015 alone, approximately 37,000 people in the U.S. died by firearms, of that number firearms were used in over 8,000 murders.

To put gun violence in perspective, there are more firearms murders in the U.S. in one day than in one year in Great Britain.

And why is that? It’s because Great Britain has strict gun laws. This common sense approach is something we should emulate, and we can start by repealing the Second Amendment.

Less Guns, Stricter Laws

Do not let the National Rifle Association fool you into thinking that more guns are better in reducing violence. It is not. Less guns, stricter laws, and enforcement are the answers to gun violence, and the sooner we understand that simple concept the better.

The sooner our politicians get out from under the strong hold of the NRA the better. And the sooner the American Civil Liberties Union steps up to the plate and take a strong position against gun violence irrespective of the Bill of Rights, the safer America will be.

More recently the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stated that the “right” to openly carry a firearm was protected and not a violation of the Second Amendment. Another recent ruling allowed the production of 3D-printed guns after arguments centered around the freedom of expression and once again the flawed Second Amendment.

It is impossible to predict what direction this country is taking, but based on recent events we, as Americans, are our own worst enemies because we do nothing to protect ourselves by crafting better laws and electing people who are willing to make those changes.

The Second Amendment must be repealed today for the sake of future generations and to save “yet-to-be victims” of senseless gun violence. “Be the change you want to see,” by contacting your senator and/or representative.

We cannot and must not wait any longer.

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