Posted on 09/16/2002 7:24:13 PM PDT by tarawa
It isn't a question of how much or how messed up they would get, although .42 oz of grass should get them higher than they want in one sitting unless it is real crap. The question comes down to this: our culture has problems with people in posession of controlled substances and firearms at the same time. Heck, we don't even like drunks running around with a loaded gun.
If you think the law is in error, change the law, or defy it at your own risk.
The issue here isn't really a Second amendment issue, it is a firearms/drug posession issue. If the drug had been LSD or ecstacy, would you still feel the same?
BDB says: "Just waiting for the usual WOD cheerleeders to show up and say 'good riddance'"
You called? Yeah, you can count me among "the usual suspects", but in this case I say this government gun-grab is not only wrong, but pure unadulterated bull excrement and it makes me madder than hell. The government had better damn well wise up before they find Henry Bowman stalking this land.
How can I rationalize these two opinions? Simple, I don't throw away my car when it malfunctions. I fix the car and keep on going. The following are some of the constraints I would place on the WOD to keep it consistent with how I read the Constitution.
I don't see any constitutional problem with the feds using the ICC clause to bar interstate transportation (or the threat of same) of illegal drugs. Nor even the state taking an even more restrictive enforcement approach regarding possession, sales and use.
And I don't see a problem with the feds or the state depriving a drug trafficker from the fruits of his crimes by using forfeiture, but ONLY when a.) the seizures do not amount to a "bill of attainder" (i.e., only after conviction and hearing) and b.)the property seized can be reasonably determined to be the proceeds of crime.
I would make the use of any military asset WITHIN our borders strictly illegal in the WOD. I would jail officers and agents for some of their wilder excesses and discipline smaller offenses accordingly.
If these things were SOP, we wouldn't be reading about the outrage of the gun seizure in the above article.
Regards,
Boot Hill
So, "not tipping off their search" is more important than respecting civil liberties?? The presumption is "innocent until PROVEN guilty". The police "raid, raid, raid" mentality is one of the biggest travesties foisted on us by the "war on some drugs"--the biggest is "civil forfeiture". It is NOT sufficient to perform such activities based on informant statements alone---more probable cause should be needed.
The fact that all the laws involved are very clearly unconstitutional, of course, cuts no ice with a "lifetime NRA member". That's the reason so many of us regard the NRA as a guncontrol lobby.
When your masters make tobacco illegal, you'll post the same sentiment with slightly different wording, won't you? Polish their shoes while you're down there groveling.
“During the home raid, authorities seized 0.42 ounces of marijuana from David LaVanway's bedroom. The amount would make no more than three joints, she said.”
She only gets 7 joints to the ounce? That’s some big doobies.
I thought most people were aware that it is illegal to possess both illegal substances and firearms at the same time.
That's a common misconception. The Constitution gives the Supremes no such power. That power was invented by a Supreme Court justice in his opinion contained in the ruling on Marbury v Madison.
Support for the Constitution also requires me to support the constitutional process for its interpretation.
Respect for the Constitution should require you to read it for yourself instead of taking the word of government employed lawers on what it says. The document is written in plain English and needs no "interpretation" unless one doesn't understand English. There is no "constitutional process for its interpretation".
Right on the money. The forteiture laws have done more to corrupt honest law enforcement than anything except possibly prohibition in the 1920's. Those laws clearly violate the 5th amendment's taking clause, yet the courts let the outrage continue and gladly take their share of the booty. It's hard to imagine a more perfect recipe for LE corruption and abuse of power.
I have never used illegal drugs and have little sympathy for those who are caught doing so, but the WOD as it is conducted has been, and continues to be, the worst thing that has ever happened to the right we all have to honest law enforcement. But because of the acceptance of a police state mentality by the majority, including some of the posters on this thread, nothing can or will be done to stop it. Perhaps when enough of these holier than thou police state enthusiasts lose their own property over some trumped up charge by a greedy LE department that attitude may change.
Having said all that, I believe these people who lost their guns were incredibly stupid if they did possess any illegal substance as they have admitted. The appropriate action there would be a fine for a 1st time misdemeanor drug offense and return of all property to the rightful owners. But in reality I would bet they never see those guns again. They'rs just fortunate they didn't lose their vehicles and their home, must be that the LE agency there isn't quite as money hungry as they are in many jurisdictions.
Is there EVER going to be a final straw for your camels back?
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