Should the 2d Amendment be amended to remove the confusing first phrase?

Keep it.

My opinion of the second amendment is that it is perfectly fine the way it was written. The problem is those people that want to change or have it removed are not intelligent enough to know that this little amendment is the sole deterrent to other country’s invading our sovereign nation. They look at the size of our military and think ok we have more, then they look at how our civilian population may be armed and then they decide ok we would lose because we would have an advantage over them in shear numbers. So leave the amendment alone.

I live by the 2nd. Amendment every day.

Maj.Detwyler, I understand what you are saying. However I think that the US is to large to be able to follow Switzerland's example and issue every adult a battle rifle, even if it was only in semiautomatic. We have a hard enough time keeping firearms out of the hands of people who legally can't have them let alone those who shouldn't have them. The VA can't adequately handle the mental health issues of our veterans, and those are probably minor compared to what the civilian mental health providers have to deal with and they are swamped with just what the courts send them. So how are you going to screen the bad apples? I'm talking about the guys and gals who join to get the rifle and training so they can go play "Rambo" let alone the abusers ie. drug, alcohol, and domestic violence.

Is the Veterans Administration getting in on the "gun debate"?

Here is a link to the 370th Edition of the Scout Report (http://scoutcommsusa.com/2018/06/04/the-scout-report-370th-edition/) as you scroll down please read the article by Jay Price of NPR about “Battling Depression and Suicide Among Female Veterans”.

Veteran suicide is a major and concerning issue, and the reported increase in female suicide is very alarming. The need to provide more services to female veterans who are now experiencing new exposures as a result of their service is critical. Yet one sentence caught my eye as I was reading this article. The quote in the article is from Meghan McCarthy, PhD who is the Deputy Director for Suicide Prevention, Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention at the VA. In the article Ms McCarthy states:

"One of the reasons we think why women veterans die by suicide at higher rates than civilians do is because they are more likely to attempt suicide with a firearm than civilian women. Firearms are a very lethal method of suicide." The easy accessibility of guns in this country will continue to be a factor for at risk populations and should be a part of the discussion as we talk about suicide prevention.

Using veteran suicide deaths by the very agency charged with healing our brave warriors in order to impact gun policy is a despicable excuse for not addressing the more important issues of access to culturally competent care and building community so veterans and for that matter anyone does not ever have to consider by gun, by razor blade, by self-hanging, by drug overdose, car exhaust, or by lethal self-poisoning (Orthotox poison, etc.) or any other means – the act of taking their own life. In all of these cases it is about the desperation people feel when they don't know where to turn or who to trust!!!

I say this because after having two shipmates die in my arms from a massive drug and alcohol overdose, plus early in my naval career, as an emergency room Corpsmen working to save the lives of people who chose to cut their jugulars or slit their arms and legs (long way) and even with a crack medical team working feverishly lives were lost. So, this issue of suicide is personal for me! In the aftermath of such failure, you have to lock down your heart and soul and realize you and the medical team did your best, but it impacts you and you begin to ask questions.

This issue of guns, while important, does NOT get at the underlying causes and issues that led people to this final act of desperation - suicide. Those that travel this path have, before committing the act, have traveled a long and dark road of hopelessness borne out of losing faith and hope and most of all having their trust violated then they most needed to trust. It is trust and the need to know that when you are hurting and you reach out your hand, that you are seeking to trust someone, anyone who will grasp your hand and not let you sink further into the abyss of despair.

Even if we banned all guns and wiped away the 2nd Amendment tomorrow in the name of "public safety" people would still die, because we would NOT have fixed the underlying causes that drive people to lose all hope and take their own lives in the first place. Some people, including me, have called these people - those that commit suicide - "cowards". Yet, I wonder who the real cowards are? Are they those who see the problem and seek to make political hay to push an agenda, never really addressing the core issue(s)? Are they that say "Well it is not my problem. It does not affect me." and continue to have their martini's stuck to their lips. Are they that say, "Oh, I cannot imagine what that poor person must have gone through. But, I don't know what to do?" Are they the average person who has their own issues, who is struggling themselves to remain viable and while interested is not in a position to offer the support really needed? All of these are us and more.

The problem, comes from not understanding and furthermore not preventing the judging of people, who are often seen as strong and in a moment a fraction of a second, don't know why their inter-strength has or is failing them! It comes from providing people the capacity to share the depth of their very "human" spirits and not creating cookie-cutter solutions that, at times can be the wrong prescription for healing a bombarded and battered soul. It comes from listening, and being honest enough to admit that we have problems that will not be fixed with a "magic silver bullet" approach. It comes when we create a true interdependent community.

We should always have an honest platform and eyes wide open realism that has been lacking in the politically charge rhetoric of the day. We must assure that the issues (e.g. joblessness, homelessness, social disconnection, and so many more things) are always in front of the audience advocating for “gun control” and always challenging the very truths that others would hide or say don't exist or substitute for an agenda. Guns are inanimate objects that receive their animation wielded by the hands of a living breathing human being who had made a decision to act in a manner inconsistent with Abraham Maslow’s first three rungs on his Hierarchy of Needs (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs):

• Rung 1 -.Physiological – e.g. food, clothing, shelter, etc.
• Rung 2 - Safety – personal safety, health, etc.
• Rung 3 – Social Belonging – friends, family, etc.

When people feel disconnected, unsafe or unable to be in out of the proverbial rain they begin to lose hope. Some are stronger, aka more resilient, than others. It does not make them weak. It makes them human!!! We (I) have to do more to help our fell vets return to wholeness. So, we should not be sidetracked by the rhetoric, not advocate pity for those in danger of committing this act of desperation; rather, we have to work up close and very personal at what being truly vulnerable means and what it really takes to become more secure, safe and connected.

In closing, the below link reveals some of the work the VA is doing regarding this very important topic. All efforts to save just ONE life and return that ONE life to wholeness is what we need, not diversion rhetoric!!!

(https://www.hsrd.research.va.gov/publications/forum/spring18/default.cfm?utm_source=FORUM&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=FORUM2018spring)

Just my humble thoughts!

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I like it. It could open a can of worms though. Does a constitutional convention allow the entire constitution to be altered, or just the 2A?

No, do not change any part of it. That would be the opening steps for the democrats to re-write or dismantle it all together.

The second amendment is clearly written. Leave it alone.

No. Removing the first sentence of the Second Amendment, would literally give the gun haters what they want. The right to ban guns from law a biding citizens.

Clean up the language, please! As written, it's unclear.