Guns, race and religion.
They are the "third rails" of journalism.
Go there at your own peril.
Yesterday, I went there.
In the wake of still another mass shooting - this time the deadliest in U.S. history - I wanted to talk about guns.
I posted a blog item asking for discussion. I shared it on social media.
I knew what was coming.
It likely sparked more conversation than just about anything I've written - at least recently.
No, not all of it was civil. Almost nothing on social media is these days.
But I still think it was necessary.
I expanded on that blog post on today's editorial page.
The truth is I don't what the answer is. I don't know if anybody does.
I do know this: We can save our breath discussing the Second Amendment. It's not going away. But I think it can - and should - be tweaked.
I don't think a citizen necessarily should have the right to buy a weapon capable of delivering the kind of mayhem that rained down on that crowd from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas.
I know what the gun crowd is going to say. There are already laws in place. Just enforce them. Clearly they are not working..
And I know all about the NRA's entrenched position against any change in the Second Amendment, with the fear being that "slippery slope" is just a few steps away from prying the guns from the hands of American citizens.
Here, exactly, is what the Second Amendment guarantees:
"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."
Period.
That single sentence likely has been the most widely interpreted sentence in U.S. history.
What exactly is a well-regulated militia?
Who are they supposed to be protecting us from?
Is language adopted in 1791 applicable in 2017?
Semi-automatic and automatic weapons certainly are still applicable to a "well regulated militia," but should they be available to a private citizen.
The latest news reports indicate Stephen Paddock legally acquired every one of the weapons he used in the largest mass shooting in United State history.
Don't you think maybe it's time to update the Second Amendment. Or at least talk about it?
You can read our editorial here.
See you on social media.
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