‘Repeal the Second Amendment’ Trends on Twitter

Following the publication of a New York Times article on the topic, “Repeal The Second Amendment” has been trending on Twitter.

Shortly after the publication of an op-ed written by former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court John Paul Stevens for the New York Times titled “Repeal The Second Amendment,” the same phrase began to trend on Twitter. Many Twitter users began retweeting Stevens’ article and commenting on the issue of firearms and the second amendment. The hashtag has begun trending just days after the March For Our Lives protest in Washington D.C.

 

The Top News section of the trending topic featured a link to Stevens’ article which displayed an image comparing an 18th-century rifle to a modern semi-automatic rifle. The tagline for the article reads “This weekend’s marches make it clear: To enact real gun control, we need to change the constitution.”

A number of Twitter users tweeted about Stevens’ article:

The Second Amendment says that the people have the right to "a well regulated" militia.

Gun violence in this country proves we aren't well regulated. Those against change are against the Constitution.

We don't need to repeal the Second Amendment. We need them to understand it.

— Nick Jack Pappas (@Pappiness) March 27, 2018

I think even Madison would agree, it is time to repeal the Second Amendment.https://t.co/XXUspcoxkR

— Kaushik Basu (@kaushikcbasu) March 25, 2018

The editors of @americamag welcome Justice Stevens to this cause. https://t.co/bQ14kxc8LT https://t.co/X05jeyaeID

— Matt Malone, S.J. (@Americaeditor) March 27, 2018

Others were quick to call out Stevens, even some on the left:

We cannot, should not, and will never repeal the Second Amendment. The only Amendment that was ever repealed was the 18th which prohibited alcohol. Amendments serve to expand our rights—not limit them. We can have commonsense gun control while still defending our Constitution.

— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) March 27, 2018

It is very disappointing to see Repeal the Second Amendment trending today. There is no First Amendment without the second!

— Van Hipp (@VanHipp) March 27, 2018

“We don’t want to take your guns away.”
….A mere 3 days after March For Our Lives….
Repeal the second amendment is trending.

This rhetoric will hurt any cause more than it will help.

— Britt McHenry (@BrittMcHenry) March 27, 2018

“Repeal the second amendment” say the idiots like Chris. You think we’re just going to roll over and let that happen? Ha! https://t.co/YPaObXOmh3

— Nick Short (@PoliticalShort) March 27, 2018

https://twitter.com/LadyInfidels/status/978620480260321280

Stevens’ article states:

Rarely in my lifetime have I seen the type of civic engagement schoolchildren and their supporters demonstrated in Washington and other major cities throughout the country this past Saturday. These demonstrations demand our respect. They reveal the broad public support for legislation to minimize the risk of mass killings of schoolchildren and others in our society.

That support is a clear sign to lawmakers to enact legislation prohibiting civilian ownership of semiautomatic weapons, increasing the minimum age to buy a gun from 18 to 21 years old, and establishing more comprehensive background checks on all purchasers of firearms. But the demonstrators should seek more effective and more lasting reform. They should demand a repeal of the Second Amendment.

The full op-ed can be read in the New York Times here.