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Posted on 01/09/2007 7:16:06 AM PST by neverdem
It didn't take the gun guys long to spot me wandering among the tables at the Gun and Knife Show in Bristol Township.
Once confronted, I was certain I would be bounced from the place. To them, I am “the media.”
Gun-rights defenders feel toward media the same way a blue-stater feels toward George Bush.
Yet, they let me stay.
“Write whatever you want,” said Bob Sarb, a show organizer. “But we never feel we get a fair shake from you people.”
I spent a half-hour among 200 tables of guns and ammo, as well as knives and long blades that appeared capable of cleanly lopping off the head of your common infidel.
I made my way back to Sarb, who was selling raffle tickets for a Harley motorcycle and a .50-caliber gun signed by Ted Nugent.
We chatted about law, order and gun rights. I told him I had been to Washington, D.C., last week to see the swearing in of the Congress and was in the company of many happy Democrats. Two were engaged in a lively discussion of gun rights.
The pair concluded that the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution doesn't guarantee any Joe Six-pack the right to keep or bear arms. They agreed the Second Amendment is really about arming militias, that is, the government armed forces.
Sarb chuckled.
“They should look at Pennsylvania's Constitution and what it says about guns, because it is clear what we are guaranteed,” he said.
He quoted from article 21 of the Commonwealth's Constitution, which was drafted in 1790 when most of the Founding Fathers were still living: “The right of the citizens to bear arms in defence of themselves and the State shall not be questioned.”
“Shall ... not ... be ... questioned,” Sarb repeated to me.
I was unaware that the right to gun ownership in this state was so unambiguous. What, are we gun nuts? Or just plain-spoken on the matter?
It made me wonder what other state constitutions ring as clear. I checked. Here's the red state of Texas:
“Every citizen shall have the right to keep and bear arms in the lawful defense of himself or the State; but the Legislature shall have power, by law, to regulate the wearing of arms, with a view to prevent crime.”
Texas aims to “regulate” arms? I thought they were all shoot-em-up cowboys down there.
What of the constitutions of the blue New England states? Certainly they would be as regulatory as Texas.
Maine, Art. 1, sec. 16: “Every citizen has a right to keep and bear arms and this right shall never be questioned.”
Vermont, Ch. I, Art. 16: “That the people have a right to bear arms for the defence of themselves and the State. ... ”
New Hampshire, Part I, Article 2a: “All persons have the right to keep and bear arms in defense of themselves, their families, their property and the state.”
Connecticut, Art. I, sec. 15: “Every citizen has a right to bear arms in defense of himself and the state.”
Rhode Island, Art. I, sec. 22: “The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”
Massachusetts, Pt. I, article 17: “The people have a right to keep and to bear arms for the common defence.”
What, are they all gun nuts up there? Or are they just —well, you get it.
Mullane's column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday.
Woody Allen (a bank robber), walks up to the teller and hands her a note that reads. "I have a gun. Give me all your cash."
The teller, however, is puzzled, because he reads "I have a gub." "No, it's gun", Allen says.
"Looks like 'gub' to me," the teller says.
****
Gubs for all.
Gub...heh heh.
do the Moops carry gubs?
I've taken antis to gun shows. It's not uncommon to have one say that "if they knew who I am (or how I feel) they'll throw me out" or something similar.
Very illuminating. Like they expect their ideology to be visible.
This seems to be a good article, and brings up the often ignored issue of the state constitutions.
My husband and I have concealed carry permits (in PA). My mom doesn't understand why. We keep asking her to tell us why not!
The author seems to be having some trouble with reading comprehension.
"The people have the right to keep and bear arms for security, defense, hunting, recreation or any other lawful purpose." ~ WISC. CONST. art. 1, Sec. 25
Of course, that matters not one whit to Governor "Diamond Jim" Doyle and his new gang of gun-grabbers. (WI & IL are the last remaining states that do not allow CC.)
At least this journalist is willing to go look at what the various state constituions have to say on the matter. That's a significant departure from the norm and could be a start in the right direction. Not only in regards to firearms, but in any and all aspects of life, government regularly exceeds its constitutionally sanctioned power simply because it has the power to do so and only occasionally does the citizen have the resources to fight back.
A very common problem among members of the anti-gun crowd.
I am getting ready to buy either a Savage or Winchester .270 with a high power scope. The local Walmart here in NC has one on sale for $450.00. The stock is composite and I can either get a discount without the scope so I can buy someting better than the Bushnell that came with it.
Next purchase will be a 24" 12 gauge Winchester riot pump. Any thoughts, let me know.
Winchester has completely divorced itself from its US factories (due to unions no doubt, which is a good reason...) I will buy foreign made guns, but I tend to stay with American made guns 95% of the time.
Buy a Remington 870 pump or if you really want to save money by a Mossberg 500. you can get a pistol grip to replace the but stock and you have a short manuverable home defense weapon.
for later
I've heard it said that Pennsylvania is Pittsburgh and Philadelphia with 500 miles of Alabama in between," and that seems about right.
Libertarian ping! To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here.
If you get the Winchester, do yourself a favor, save a few bucks and buy the version without the scope. The scope that comes on these Winchester rifles is junk. Mine (bought at a gun show) had a bottom of the barrel Simmons that had crappy optics and flimsy adjusting knobs on the turrets that snapped off on the first trip to the range. By my second trip to the range, that scope was in the trash and I had mounted a new Nikon scope.
I don't think Pennsylvania is immune from the infiltration of liberals from the Boston-Washington corridor any more than are the Northern New England states, Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida, whose politics have drifted leftward because of refugees from the urban areas who bring their liberal politics with them. The same may be true for other states as well. One of the consequences of Senator Robert Byrd's decades old campaign to improve West Virginia highways will be to make that state more accessible to people moving from the Boston-Washington corridor.
Section 13. Militia; standing armies; military subordinate to civil power.
That a well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defense of a free state, therefore, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed; that standing armies, in time of peace, should be avoided as dangerous to liberty; and that in all cases the military should be under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power.
That's a good point.
Dude, it was a joke. It was making reference to the fact that Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are havens of liberalism, like all big cities, but the normal people who live in the country tend to own guns, drive trucks, and take opening day of hunting season off from work or school.
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