By now you may have seen our recent editorial, which calls for the repeal of the Second Amendment.
It seems the Huffington Post noticed it, too. Reporter Meredith Bennett-Smith spoke with our editor in chief, Matt Malone, S.J., about the magazine's motivations and the editorial process behind the piece. You can read the HuffPo article here.
An excerpt:
Father Matt Malone, 40, America's editor-in-chief, who stepped into his current role last summer, told The Huffington Post that the eight-member editorial board did not make this claim casually.
For weeks following the Sandy Hook massacre in Newtown, Conn., Malone said he and his fellow editors discussed what the appropriate response -- both spiritually and policy-wise -- should be. And time and time again, he and his fellow Jesuits found themselves stymied by the Supreme Court's sweeping 2008 decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, which affirmed citizens' right to bear arms for "traditionally lawful purposes."
"We thought the fundamental question here is, is the Second Amendment in the 21st century still useful law," Malone told the HuffPost. "At first we were kind of reluctant to ask that question, because no one wants to in any kind of casual way talk about changing the Bill of Rights. But you know what, the Bill of Rights and the Constitution are excellent laws, but they are human law. And it seems to us, that if they are the laws of a self-governing country, then the people have an obligation to ask, is it indeed still good law for the times were are living in."
Kerry Weber