Can’t have it both ways on amendments

The Voting Rights Act, passed in 1965, was necessary to protect voters from practices and procedures that were denying American citizens the right to vote as guaranteed by the 15th Amendment. Today, there are some who say the act is “outdated” and unnecessary, despite the current and widespread disenfranchisement of voters through procedures that make voting very difficult if not impossible for some. The Second Amendment, which was adopted in 1791 as part of the Bill of Rights, called for a well-regulated militia and the right to bear arms; it was necessary In 1791, as there was no standing Army.

Today there are some who desire to own military-style arms and believe they are protected by the Second Amendment. So the Voting Rights Act which echoed and clarified the 15th Amendment is “outdated” according to some, yet the Second Amendment with its reference to a militia is not and requires no similar adjustment. The rationale of defending one while declaring the other “outdated” appears flawed.

Marie Harris

Bartlett