Synopsis for this episode:
Donna inadvertently perjures herself at a hearing, CJ has a run in with an old colleague and Toby has to clean up the subsequent mess. Meanwhile, the President and Vice President lock horns on gun control and Leo locks horns with a General on the issue of war crimes.

Bartlet's naïveté astounds me in this episode. To Hoynes, he practically screams "Can't we all agree that it's a stupid-ass amendment written before there were street lights, much less policemen?" He then goes on to quote statistics to show that love of firearms is not firmly entrenched in the hearts of Americans, thus allowing for the possibility of controlling, even banning guns.

Here is why Bartlet is naïve AND stupid. It does not matter whether or not the amendment makes sense. As long as it's in the Constitution, it must be obeyed. If--IF--people want to enact gun control laws of any kind; if they want to ban guns; if they want to pass restrictions or require background checks, then fine. Fine. But it cannot be done unless the Constitution is changed.

Bartlet is suggesting ignoring a portion of the Constitution because it's stupid. What next? Ignoring the part about veto overrides, saying "It's stupid" and deciding that when the President vetoes a law Congress can no longer override it? Or what if the President decides that he likes the Russian President's powers to overturn a Supreme Court decision and just "adopts" it? The point is, nothing can be done until the amendment is changed or eliminated.