Opinion: David Harsanyi Says No, Abdul El-Sayed, the Second Amendment Is Not Muskets Only
The Washington Examiner columnist answers the Michigan Democrat's musket line and Maine's Troy Jackson on assault weapons, then points to the bystander who stopped the Bend, Oregon school shooter. One writer's argument.
Columnist David Harsanyi takes aim at a line from Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, who told a rally: "When they promised the right to bear arms, they had muskets. So yeah, everyone should have equal rights to a musket."
The core argument. Harsanyi writes that the Second Amendment no more covers only "muskets" than the First covers only quill pens or worship "in Anglican and Presbyterian churches." The right to self-defense, he says, "isn't predicated on technology but on belief." He adds that the founders thought citizens could own cannons, so they would surely accept a semi-automatic rifle.
The healthcare comparison. Harsanyi quotes El-Sayed from a YouTube video a couple of years ago, asking what if "we tweaked the Constitution, amended the amendment, and instead of the right to bear arms, we changed it to the right to have healthcare?" Harsanyi says that treats removing an amendment as a mere "tweak." He agrees voters can repeal the Second Amendment through the proper process. But he argues healthcare can be necessary and moral without being a right, because a right is not given by the state and "can only be taken by it."
Troy Jackson. Harsanyi also cites Maine Democratic Senate candidate Troy Jackson, who said recently, "I don't see a good reason for assault weapons. You can't use them for hunting or anything like that." Harsanyi replies that people hunt with AR-15s all the time, and that the early civilian Colt ads sold it as a hunting rifle. In his view, hunting has little to do with why the amendment exists.
The Oregon example. Harsanyi points to last week's school shooting in Bend, Oregon, where authorities said a 16-year-old killed three children and a teacher. He says it could have been far worse if the bystander who stopped the shooter, a 36-year-old carpenter named Kaylub Giamanco, had had to load a musket. He notes Oregon already has universal background checks, a magazine limit, red-flag laws and a ban on carrying firearms in schools, which Giamanco broke. "Are authorities going to charge him? One hopes not," Harsanyi writes.
Note for readers: this is opinion. We have not seen full video of El-Sayed's remarks, and the column does not include a response from his campaign or from Jackson's.