Justice Stevens and the 2nd Amendment

Former Justice Stevens would like to rewrite the 2nd Amendment as follows:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms when serving in the militia shall not be infringed. (The bold text would be added by Stevens.)

This change is preposterous, because it does not consider what comes just before service in a militia (let alone the militia). If and when corporate defense breaks down, there must be arms distributed throughout the population in order for a militia to come into existence.

A corporate defense means a governmental force such as a police force or an army. It is completely reasonable to consider the possibility of these governmental forces breaking down under, say, an EMP attack such as by Iran, North Korea, or China. In recent months, it has become clear that EMP warfare plays an important role in Chinese war fighting doctrine. One EMP weapon in low earth orbit exploded over Kansas would immobilize the continental US (along with southern Canada and northern Mexico). The military and police forces would not be able to move or to communicate. Small, local militias would be the principal hope for retaining remnants of civilization for quite a few months.

It is an extension of this understanding that makes the possession and use of arms necessary for home defense. The ability of citizens to defend their homes with force of arms reflects the fact that the police just can’t be everywhere at all times and that crooks try to be where police are not. The police just aren’t local enough, nor could they ever be, nor would we want them to be. One rather instructive source is The Armed Citizen page in the monthly American Rifleman magazine published by the NRA. Each month there are a half dozen or so reports of cases in which firearms have saved the lives of law abiding citizens. I understand the anecdotal nature of such reports. However, we do not need to rely on anecdotes when there are cities like Chicago that stand out as both murder capitals and bastions of gun regulation.