Posted on 07/26/2011 5:08:24 AM PDT by marktwain
The ATF’s website has an FAQ section. First up: “I want information on relief of federal firearm disability? (I am a felon but want to own a firearm, how do I get my privilege restored?)” According to dictionary.com, a “privilege” is “a right, immunity or benefit enjoyed only by a person beyond the advantages of most: the privileges of the very rich.” It behooves the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to remember that all Americans have the RIGHT to bear arms. And once again, I state my firmly held conviction that ANY American who has paid his or her debt to society should have their gun rights restored. Automatically. Especially in light of the fact that . . .
Hundreds of thousands of Americans [have been] charged and convicted in recent decades under federal criminal laws—as opposed to state or local laws—as the federal justice system has dramatically expanded its authority and reach.
As federal criminal statutes have ballooned, it has become increasingly easy for Americans to end up on the wrong side of the law. Many of the new federal laws also set a lower bar for conviction than in the past: Prosecutors don’t necessarily need to show that the defendant had criminal intent.
The above’s an extract from an article in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal. The story revealed that there are now so many federal criminal statutes that . . .
Counting them is impossible. The Justice Department spent two years trying in the 1980s, but produced only an estimate: 3,000 federal criminal offenses.
The American Bar Association tried in the late 1990s, but concluded only that the number was likely much higher than 3,000. The ABA’s report said “the amount of individual citizen behavior now potentially subject to federal criminal control has increased in astonishing proportions in the last few decades.”
A Justice spokeswoman said there was no quantifiable number. Criminal statutes are sprinkled throughout some 27,000 pages of the federal code.
I’m not trying to weasel here. For sure there are hundreds of non-violent federal crimes for which any sensible person would not deprive a felon of his or her gun rights. I am equally adamant that we, as a society, should err on the side of caution and restore the gun rights of anyone who has done their time.
If we believe an individual is not safe enough to exercise their right to keep and bear arms, we should not release them back into society. If we release them, they should have their Constitutional rights restored. Would we permanently deprive a felon of their right to free speech?
State governors have power to issue pardons and restoration of voting, gun ownership rights.
I forgot about that. Thanks.
No Non-incarcerated person should ever have their right to bear arms infringed upon. At one point in U.S. history someone was able to take their arms with them while awaiting trial.
Too many do-gooder emotion arguments have been made. God gave ALL MEN the right to bear arms. Unless they are being held as a danger to others (imprisoned), then their God given right has no reason to be infringed upon. As many other posters have already answered, if they’re acceptable to walk free, the State has no right to hinder their human rights.
Also, at one time, being a felon meant you had to commit a heinous act, in today’s world it can boil down to taking a video of a cop beating someone on duty, or making a negative comment aboout the beef industry. The world is upside down. If you don’t stand up for the rights of those you don’t agree with (or whome you feel it’s acceptable to take rights away from), be prepared to lose your own rights, or to die defending them alone. That’s the way liberty works, you stand united, or you die divided.
It's as clear as mud.
“The Right to Keep and Bear Arms is an unalienable right...
Unalienable in that it is a right that is granted by an authority recognized in this country that is higher than any government instituted amoung men...
So, if God tells me to lay down my arms, I will do so, till then, I’ll cling to them and his word more than I will comply with instructions or immoral laws passed to completely remove that right from me or anyone else...”
Someone who gets it. And may God grant you the long life you so richly deserve for as long as you defend that right so long as you live. There are so few true patriots left, the ones who understand that God, NOT society, grants us our rights, and that only the most extreme of circumstances warrant the abridging of a (wo)man’s God given rights. The right to bear arms is no less important than the right to life, because with the right to bear arms infringed upon, one’s right to live is seldom far behind.
Fight the good fight.
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Second Amendment trumps the ATF.
The reason that “privilege” is the word used is because THAT is the exact goal. God gave man the freedom to choose. The Communist/Fascists, seek to destroy man’s ability to choose. Hence no success and no failure, everyone gets the same thing. That being said, if you look at every action the evil doers take, including politicians, it is to give themselves (and their friends/collaborators) the rights to do anything and everything (Don’t pay taxes? Who cares, work for the treasury!), and take away the ability for anyone else to do anything but labor as slaves and grovel at their master’s feet.
There are virtually no laws created that do not work toward this end, from Obamaocare to the Food Safety Modernization Act. It’s all about hindering everyone but the elite. The sooner we all understand that, the better.
It is the ability to protect life, in the taking of a life that is Unalienable, moral and a sign of mental maturity that is a life lesson God wants us to learn...
He shows us the door, we have to decide to open it...
We are the ones who decide to pull the trigger or not...
Do I relish in this capability??? Absolutely not, do I wake up in the morning and tell myself that this may be the day I defend myself and take a human life???
No...I am humble to this capability, I make no assumptions, nor do I beat my chest in the fact that I (and many others like me) have the ability to end ANY threat to myself, my family, friends, nieghbors or anyone else I don’t even know, and my country...
I don’t want to be a stickler, but Life, Liberty, and Property were the original unalienable rights.
Since people were property when they came up with that, the compromise became Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.
The first nine amendments spelled out specifically what the govenment could or could not do. The right to bear arms was specifically reserved to citizens, and on top of that was placed a further admonishment that the right shall not be infringed upon.
Today, there are no inalienable rights, and the right to bear arms was one of the more ‘alienable’ of those rights.
Due to some ‘penumbras and emanations’ abortion is a constitutional right. How that comports with ‘Life’ being inalienable, is an open question. I know that both the death penalty and abortion are defended in a similar fashion - ‘we aren’t depriving a citizen of their right to life, since the people being executed aren’t citizens (yet, or any more)’.
Fact is, if ‘Life’ is an unalienable right, you can’t defend either abortion or the death penalty. My personal hypocrisy stops at the death penalty. I’m for it. As for abotion, there’s no defending it in my opinion.
In cases of rape or incest, I err on the side of defending the liberty of the victim. I can’t imagine being forced to give birth to the spawn of my rapist. I don’t think there’s a right legal or moral answer to that question.
“the ACLU listed the nine amendments in the Bill of Rights. No Second Amendment was listed.”
It would appear that they still don’t recognize it.
The ACLU is our nation’s guardian of liberty, working daily in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country.
These rights include:
Your First Amendment rights - freedom of speech, association and assembly; freedom of the press, and freedom of religion.
Your right to equal protection under the law - protection against unlawful discrimination.
Your right to due process - fair treatment by the government whenever the loss of your liberty or property is at stake.
Your right to privacy - freedom from unwarranted government intrusion into your personal and private affairs.
The ACLU also works to extend rights to segments of our population that have traditionally been denied their rights, including people of color; women; lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender people; prisoners; and people with disabilities.
Too true. The govt has also started adding misdemeanors to the list of crimes that strip you of your 2nd amendment rights like domestic violence.
Violent felonies are violent felonies and they haven’t changed. You have to keep an eye on your state legislature though, as they sometimes try to add truly nonviolent felonies to the violent list.
“But do you have a Solothurn ?? (evil grin)”
Been a long time since I read the book (Unintended Consequences)....I thought he used a Lahti?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8DehAUimRA&feature=related
Next up, mandatory gun insurance, yearly registration, photo ID’s, you name it.
The reason that “privilege” is the word used is because THAT is the exact goal.
That's why I stated the above.
This is nothing new, and the march towards this end have been underway for many years.
Yes. If you have completed your terms, including any/all probation/parole, then you should have 100% of your rights restored.
I understand what you are saying...
Life is life, no matter what the form or human reason for its inception...Or its demise...
Abortion is no longer a medical procedure that is implemented in an appreciable precentage of cases where the mothers health is in jeopardy...
What did doctors do before abortions were performed??? Or not just doctors, but people did when a mother came to term with their babies???
Abortion has become a method of birth control for people who value “choice” but made a whole series of choices to conceive that life...And a more liberal world has wrapped itself around that idea...
Bottom line: “It’s not the babies fault!”
Now, back to your original statement...
Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness are essential embodiments of Freedom, they encapsulate the basic necessities of a moral existance, and God who recognizes a nation that does its best to enumerate, protect and extend to other nations these basic principles stand a better chance of existing and flourishing as a nation than others...
Property is basically a perk in our lives...We didn’t have it before we were born, and we can not take it with us when we pass on...The only thing we have is the life that was given to us, and our stewardship and protection of others is all we’ll really have at the end of the day...
You are right on the money, and I like what you said that abortion is an in-defensable act, basically...
But society is too far gone on the concept,and until the act is seen not as a form of birth control and something to do because two people made some bad decisions (choices)...We will never see the end of it...
As far as our Unalienable right to keep and bear arms is concerned, like I said before, if God wants me to lay them down I will do so without hesitation...Governments and their agents can certainly make it difficult for those of us who understand the issue as a whole, and others may relinquish their right to keep and bear arms, which is their choice, not mine, I will respectfully decline their suggestion...
shall not be infringed...
means just that.
if felons are released into society after serving their “time”, they have the unalienable right to keep and bear arms.
if society is afraid they will cause more harm, then keep them locked up longer.
i believe in the second amendment as written and shall not be infringed means everyone.
teeman
Too many do-gooder emotion arguments have been made. God gave ALL MEN the right to bear arms. Unless they are being held as a danger to others (imprisoned), then their God given right has no reason to be infringed upon. As many other posters have already answered, if they’re acceptable to walk free, the State has no right to hinder their human rights.
Also, at one time, being a felon meant you had to commit a heinous act, in today’s world it can boil down to taking a video of a cop beating someone on duty, or making a negative comment aboout the beef industry. The world is upside down. If you don’t stand up for the rights of those you don’t agree with (or whome you feel it’s acceptable to take rights away from), be prepared to lose your own rights, or to die defending them alone. That’s the way liberty works, you stand united, or you die divided.
This all bears repeating, often and at length. Finally, someone else gets it. I salute you.
Liberty is not a salad bar; you don't pick the bits you like and leave the rest. I expected more people on this forum to understand that.
Either it's an unalienable right or it's a privilege. Which is it, folks? Which one are you going to stand up for? Or will you stand at all?
Thanks for the kind word. I am going to steal your quote for my personal use (”Liberty is not a salad bar...”). I’ve found that many good people have just gotten caught up in the liberal WAY of thinking. That is, namely, “When I (or my favor politician) get(s) power, I’ll make sure things are done the way I want.” It is a never ending cycle ripe with injustice. The focus should be upon freedom, and the consequences that come with that freedom, and the choices borne out of it, positive or negative.
Thanks again for the kind words, I realized I didn’t proofread, and made a few typos. Thanks for looking past the messenger and seeing the message, JDW.
You’re right. I was just so impressed that you made the connection. So many don’t, they think that the Fascists want venegence, or aren’t intelligent. While they may not be wise, they sure are cunning, and they should never be underestimated. Evil, while impatient, is certainly subversive so much of the time, that unless we watch out for it, we don’t realize that was the plan all the time. Just as Obama has stated he would do all he has done, but few listened, so too, I believe, the ATF is telegraphing the gun seizure (or attempt at it) to come, mark my words. I know you get it, but we all need to, so it bears repeating.
I understand completely. God said,”For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.” (Ezekiel 18:32)
We have been given sound judgement and have to use it wisely. The act of taking a life to protect it, is something that is so, so, complicated a matter, that it probably cannot be fully understood in this life. Perhaps that’s why greater love hath no man, than that he lay down his life for his friends.
But standing for something good, and just and right is most admirable, and I thank you.
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