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Prof. Volokh on preamble to gun mfr liability bill
Over at the Volokh Conspiracy, Prof. Volokh comments on the impact of the gun mfr liability bill's preamble on the "evolving constitution" concept (i.e., that those who dislike the Second Amendment can pronounce it evolved into nothingness).
I've commented on this (citing Prof. Volokh as the originator of the response) below and more generally here.
[BTW, Prof. Volokh and I both feel the "evolving constitution" is a crock of BS. The very provision for amending the Constitution (with its requirements of supermajorities in both houses and in the States) indicates that the framers intended that the original agreement be changed only by a formal agreement, indeed a near-universal consensus of Americans.]
[Another BTW: under the "evolving constitution," would not the Confederacy have had a solid argument that even if the original Constitution did not permit withdrawal from the Union, by 1860 it had "evolved" to do so? There, they at least had (1) substantial ambiguity as to whether the Constitution permitted withdrawal (as I recall, Robert E. Lee at once point argued that it didn't allow, and Lincoln at another had argued that it did -- things don't get more ambiguous than that) and (2) they had the formal acts of States and people in conventions taking that view. That's a lot more than rub your belly three times and decide whether you individually think the Constitution has "evolved" into a different wording.]