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Tina Le
CH 203
03 March 2021
The Constitution Lacks Social and Political Empathy
When mentioning the United States Constitution, the first thing that comes to mind would
be the Bills of Rights. This is composed of the first ten amendments that are the foundation of
the United States of America. Within the Bill of Rights, the Second Amendment has gained more
traction in modern times. The Second Amendment states “A well regulated Militia, being
necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not
be infringed,” (The Second Amendment), which in simpler terms implies the rights to bear any
type of firearms within one’s possession or home. The Second Amendment is outdated and no
longer serves the purpose it once did. Originally the purpose of this amendment was for the
safety of the people in case the government overstepped their boundaries, but what is at stake
now, is the safety of the same people they were trying to protect (Origins and Historical
Antecedents). The controversy is between two opposing sides – those who are considered “white”
and the minorities that this amendment scrutinizes. In a modern world, the Second Amendment
lacks a strong social and political agenda. Even though the economic relief may help the United
States, it is not important enough to continue supporting this amendment.
In the United States, the majority consist of white people and those who are white
passing, on the contrary minorities in this context are anyone who is not white or white passing.
Socially, this amendment puts into question the topic of discrimination and systematic racism.
To put into a bigger perspective, if a white person is seen in public with a hand firearm, that
would be considered the basic norm; if it was a person of color or more specifically a black
person, heads would be turned and they might not be able to walk away alive. If the right to bear
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arms were upheld correctly that would mean everyone could own a firearm without any
hesitation on whether or not this person had good intentions. Since this is not the case, we see the
system being in favor of white people because the odds are stacked against the minorities. The
odds being that social expectations are that black people cannot hold a firearm because they will
engage in violent/criminal acts based on stereotypes, but white people are equally as capable of
indulging in those activities. We are quick to assume that black people are doing something
wrong but actually they are trying to live by the same privileges white people have. These
privileges were apparent during the time of slavery when “they… restricted former slaves’
freedoms and liberties — including the right to bear arms,” (Manson).
From a political standpoint, the issues of the second amendment were more exemplified
when Former President Donald Trump was elected. When Former President Donald Trump came
