Molon Labe !
Posted on 09/29/2002 1:35:10 PM PDT by Eastbound
In a recent thread on the gun control issue, someone made the following statement:
"While the debate has strong arguments on each side, virtually every federal court in the country has held for over six decades that there is no personal, individual right to own a gun. "
That was a startling statement to me, so I decided to search through my books to find the antecedents and justification for that statement, and by gum, lo and behold, I found it! Right there in Article 2, section 2(b):
"There is no personal or individual reason or right for the people keep, own or bear arms."
Guess that clears that up.
Oops. My mistake. That was an old copy of the law sent over from England in 1775. You know, that repugnant law we set aside with the American Revolution?
Let's pretend for sake of argument that the Second Amendment is ONLY addressing the arming of militias and commanding the federal government not to interfere with the right of the states to form armed militias and is NOT referring to the personal right for the individual to keep and bare arms. If that is the case, then there must be another enumerated power in the constitution for the federal government to assume it has the power to govern over an un-armed and defenseless people (individuals) and using force, to prevent them from keeping and bearing arms for any reason.
I must be blind, because I can't find that enumerated power in the U.S. Constitution, nor can I find anything else in the U.S. Constitution that even relates to the gun issue. That being the case, following the logic of Amendments 9 and 10, it would fall to the states to have that enumerated power in its constitutions, if the people allowed it when the state constitutions were written.
But after diligent search, I could not find that enumerated power in my state constitution. On the contrary, my state constitution plainly states:
"No law shall abridge the right of the citizen to keep and bear arms for security and defense, for lawful hunting and recreational use and for other lawful purposes . . . . . . . . No municipality or county shall regulate, IN ANY WAY any incident of the right to keep and bear arms."
Hmmm! You don't suppose my state knew that neither the federal government nor the state itself had the enumerated power to prevent the people, the individual, from keeping and bearing arms? On the contrary, the state recognized the right of the individual to bear arms and even insured that it would not interfere with such a basic right by inserting words of protection for that right in the state constitution.
So if it is not an enumerated power of the federal government -- and it isn't an enumerated power of the state government, following the logic of the 9th and 10th Amendment, the right to keep and bear arms falls to the people -- the individual -- ME! It's my choice. So let it be known to all, that I choose here and now to enumerate my personal right to keep and bear arms.
Why? Just in case I ever have a need to defend my life at the moment when and where my life is threatened. If I can't defend myself in such situations because of bad laws, the federal government has wrongfully denied me my apriori right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness in direct violation of the primary reason it exists -- which is NOT to protect my life in such situations, but to protect my right to protect myself!
Show me where my logic is wrong. If you can, I will melt down my pistol and break my rifle in half and will learn the art of crafting arrowheads, if there is no law against it.
(Somebody puh-lease throw a bucket of ice on me)
You said:
"Government has overstepped in many ways"
Lemme count the ways:
They're stealing our water, our farmlands and cattle
Away from the din of the cities' loud rattle
They think we're alone, with no voice to be heard
But someday they'll learn we're not part of the herd
When the price of a loaf goes over the line
And taxes consuming what's yours and what's mine
When all of the laws are selectively 'lawyered'
Look for branch and a taught-swinging halyard.
Whulp, gotta put all that on hold for a while and focus on a more violent breed of enemy that is upon us. If it comes to pass that the terrorists will begin visiting our neighborhoods, the only way we are going to resolve that is for everyone to carry their own 'anti-terror tools.' Time for the governors to alert the Citizens to prepare for combat in their own neighborhoods. Time to open the public armories. Time for the sheriff's to get busy and deputize the whole county - especially all the vets, the hunters, and other gun-handlers. And yes, it's time to set aside all gun laws. Don't want my own government to mistakenly shoot me as a terrorist. ;-)
I've mentioned that before, but think it needs to be repeated. Even if pre-mature, best to get used to the idea.
Molon Labe !
But that was only a side-bar to my topic. Any comment on the logic of the main topic? Thanks for the reply, TERMINATTOR.
Molon Labe!
"If you're killed, you've lost a very important part of your life," -- Brooke Shields, during an interview to become spokesperson for federal anti-smoking campaign.
A very apt acronym: F.A.S.C.ists
bump!
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