My dear colleague Rav Moshe Taragin errs when he suggests (“Parah Adumah, Democracy and Worshipping Human Constitutions” July 2, 2020) that the Second Amendment “was intended to protect against the aggression of a foreign empire” and, as such, “it is unlikely that hand-held guns could be of much use in actual warfare.”

The Second Amendment was enacted to enable the citizenry to protect itself against the encroachments on personal liberty of a tyrannical domestic government, and also, as the Supreme Court made clear in District of Columbia v. Heller, to facilitate the elementary right of self-defense. Handguns are not useful in “actual warfare” but they are quite valuable for personal protection, one reason why they are so common in Gush Etzion, among other places. The murder of innocents is horrible, and reasonable measures should be enacted to keep firearms out of the hands of violent criminals, for example, but it is also true that many more thousands of deaths are prevented annually by the presence of protective weapons than by their misuse.

It is also untrue that the U.S. Constitution is perceived by anyone as “immutable.” It is quite mutable, through the amendment process that has been used successfully 27 times and most recently in 1992. That process requires a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress, followed by ratification of three-fourths of the states. That ensures that amendments truly reflect the will of the people, and not simply that of five unelected Supreme Court justices. If the Second Amendment endures, it is because such is the will of the people, notwithstanding the sporadic, unfortunate consequences of widespread gun ownership.

On another note, I want to thank The Jewish Link for your thoughtful coverage of my Congregation B’nai Yeshurun farewell parade. It is not easy to leave such a wonderful shul and community. As I prepare to make aliya, I am gratified by the spiritual development and physical growth of the Teaneck community that I have witnessed over 26 years, and particularly by the success of The Link in reporting on Jewish life in these parts from a Torah perspective. I wish you all continued hatzlacha!

Rabbi Taragin responds:

Thank you Rabbi Pruzansky for these important corrections. Additionally, I want to thank you for your gracious hospitality in always welcoming me so warmly to your community and shul. Iy”H we look forward to your coming to Eretz Yisrael.