Ptooey! on the 2nd Amendment

Lew Rockwell ^ | 13 November 2003 | Brad Edmonds

[jjm2111]

Bang!

[45Auto]

"At this time, it is obvious that all levels of government in the US view individual rights as things that exist only because government says so. Our government today has no interest in what "natural rights" are, or what people morally ought to be allowed to do for themselves. Those cities that have strict gun-control laws believe their low level of government has the right to abridge our most fundamental right of self-defense."

And therein lies the problem; if even the lowliest levels of government can so blithely ignore and infringe such a basic right as that of self defense, then in what kind of contempt do they hold liberty itself? Their attitude pits citizen against government at all levels under all circumstances. Is this not the definition of tyranny?

[sourcery]

[HEY4QDEMS]

Walter Williams said "if you are granted by your government the right to play hopscotch, that means you have no particular right to play jacks."

Amendment IX

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Walter Williams is an idiot.

[Sender]

Can I get an AMEN brothers and sisters? I know that's right.

[looscnnn]

I agree that people have the right to move somewhere else if they don't like a particular place. Some people won't, some can't, but there are definately some that should.

If the amendments had not be written down, we would have had guns and free speech taken away a long time ago. How could we "prove" that we have the right to protect ourselves when liberals don't follow, or believe in?, natural law/rights. They would say the right to protect ourselves is done by having a military and police.

[Dead Corpse]

So I can go ahead and put that gardening shed up in my backyard without a building permit?

Gee, thanks for straightening that out for us. (/sarcasm)

Williams was dead on.

[Teacher317]

I believe he's making the point that the Constitution, especially Am IX, is being ignored. Read the last paragraph.

[Sloth]

Walter Williams is an idiot.

Anyone who would call Walter Williams "an idiot" IS an idiot.

[Dead Corpse]

I wasn't going to say it, but I'm glad someone did. ;-)

[Gorjus]

Walter Williams said "if you are granted by your government the right to play hopscotch,

Others have already established that you didn't quite make your point, but you missed the key issue. If the government "grants" you your rights, then you don't have any but what the government has identified to give you.

One could make the case (Lord knows the socialists like to do so) that the 9th Amendment just means that the government can "grant" you more if they want to.

And so, Walter Williams is right. Of course, you're free to disagree with his premise that the government grants any rights at all (even to play hopscotch) but if you disagree with the premise for his argument, then talk about something else. It doesn't make him an idiot for setting up a premise that even he disagrees with, just to make a point.

[HEY4QDEMS]

Why weren't you going to say it?

I'm not violent and not not made of glass.

I can take it, really I can.

[rdb3]

Walter Williams is an idiot.

You may disagree with Dr. Williams, but he is by no means an idiot.

[vanmorrison]

Dr. Williams is not an idiot. The problem is that the people of this country have consistently relinquished their heritage of liberty by encouraging the formation of an all-encompassing governmental entity never envisioned by the generation that wrote the constitution. The last generation of Americans that took the constitution seriously became Confederates. But, they lost the war.

[Dead Corpse]

Well, I AM violent. I'm really not a very nice person. I also have a tendancy to upset the moderators here.

As I LIKE being here, I try to keep insults to a minimum and only AFTER I have first been insulted. Retaliatory force is perfectly A-OK in my book.

Now that we've gotten that out of the way, would you care to enlighten us some more on your extremely low opinion of Dr. Williams and what evidence you can foreward to back up such a mindless statement?

[Saundra Duffy]

What is the rapist's worst nightmare? A woman with a gun.

[HEY4QDEMS]

Perhaps "Idiot" was a little over the top.

But I still disagree, I have a right to work, watch TV, read, Post on FR etc..., none of these things were granted to me by the government.

The IX Amendment was designed to be a catch all that makes all things legal unless laws are made to the contrary.

That is why when a new drug like Xstacy hit the streets it was 100% legal until laws were made to make it illegal.

[steve50]

Most conservatives have bought into the premise that the Constitution grants rights. In fact it grants limited powers to government and forbids the increase of such powers without amendment. They've turned it upside down and we go along for the pure joy of seeing the power of the state used against those with whom we disagree.

[Dead Corpse]

The thing is, Walter was pointing out that there is no Constitutional authority present for our government to make such laws in the first place. The qoute you grabbed, out of context, was an illustration of governments current "mindset".

For instance, exactly where does it give the government the power to make a drug illegal? Please cite Article and Paragraph fro mthe US Constitution.

Take your time... we'll wait.

And no. Distortions of the "general welfare" and "interstate commerce" clauses do not apply.