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Gun Rights Fall to the People
Author | 9/29/02 | Eastbound

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.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Government; Your Opinion/Questions
KEYWORDS: banglist; constitution; gunrights; secondamendment
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The beasts of the field were born with the means for self-defense. Are the beasts considered higher on the food chain than humans? Apparently "'virtually every federal court in the country" does, if they have been saying for 'over six decades that there is no personal, individual right to own a gun."
1 posted on 09/29/2002 1:35:10 PM PDT by Eastbound
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Do you want THIS man to speak for you?

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2 posted on 09/29/2002 1:37:38 PM PDT by terilyn
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To: terilyn
All you gun folks, here's a bump for donations. Give freely.

Any help here with the 'BANG" ping list will be appreciated. Thanks.

3 posted on 09/29/2002 1:48:12 PM PDT by Eastbound
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To: Eastbound
Thank you so much!


4 posted on 09/29/2002 1:51:54 PM PDT by terilyn
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To: Eastbound
If all the anti gunners think they're right in regard to the 2nd A. Why in the WORLD would a state have to put in WRITING a law which gives ITSELF the right to arm? Further, who WERE the militia? I'll tell you...they were people like you & me.

And were they given guns? No, THEY USED THEIR OWN. Lastly, it the Bill of Rights (the 1st 10 amendments) were written of, for & by the people.....WHY do they say #2 is a STATE RIGHT, hmm? Why not the first, or the fifth amendment? BECAUSE THEY'RE FULL OF CRAP, and their liberal ideas don't hold water. One needs only to look to England & Austrailia to see the TRUE effects of so-called gun control.

5 posted on 09/29/2002 1:56:54 PM PDT by Puppage
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To: *bang_list
Ping!
6 posted on 09/29/2002 1:57:00 PM PDT by Still Thinking
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To: terilyn
Do you want THIS man to speak for you?

Hell, I don't even want that man to speak to me.

7 posted on 09/29/2002 1:57:41 PM PDT by Still Thinking
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To: terilyn
Dont know why everyone says he is left...
He said he would but hasnt yet...
guess he lied...
8 posted on 09/29/2002 2:00:47 PM PDT by joesnuffy
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To: joesnuffy
"guess he lied"

They always do...

9 posted on 09/29/2002 2:02:27 PM PDT by terilyn
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To: Still Thinking
How about he just doesn't speak, period!

Works for me ;)
10 posted on 09/29/2002 2:03:04 PM PDT by terilyn
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To: Puppage
Well said. I think it's our duty to educate the libs, dems, and any other gun-grabber out there.. Send 'em a link to this thread. Thanks for the reply, Puppage. BTW, I assume you are publicly enumerating your right to keep and bear arms here too. Right?
11 posted on 09/29/2002 2:04:59 PM PDT by Eastbound
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To: Still Thinking
Hahaha! Says it all.
12 posted on 09/29/2002 2:06:10 PM PDT by Eastbound
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To: Eastbound
AB-SO-LUTE-LY. Every chance I get. It started 2 months ago with the procurement of my CCW here in CT. I heard someone say to an anti-gunner once.."if you or a loved one were being assaulted & I had my gun...would you want me to intervene?" Pretty much stopped the conversation right then and there. If people would just form an opinion based on fact, rather than feeling, it would be a much different story.
13 posted on 09/29/2002 2:09:58 PM PDT by Puppage
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To: Eastbound
"There is no personal or individual reason or right for the people keep, own or bear arms."

Source, please. The quote simply doesn't read like 18th Century English.

14 posted on 09/29/2002 2:24:59 PM PDT by Grut
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To: Eastbound
Funny story, arguement between me a dumb a@@ liberal. He was arguing that the second amendment applies and means the national guard. When I pointed out that the national guard, the one we have now, came into real existance well after the constitution was adopted, including the bill of rights, his arguement was, and I am not joking about this "They probably knew one day, they were going to have a national guard, and put the law in first, thats why they made the constitution flexible, for the future". These people are idiots.
15 posted on 09/29/2002 2:40:43 PM PDT by Sonny M
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To: Grut
"Source, please. The quote simply doesn't read like 18th Century English."

I thought the satire was obvious enough, negating the need to add the < satire > tag. Thanks for the bump.

16 posted on 09/29/2002 2:45:48 PM PDT by Eastbound
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To: Eastbound; Eaker; dix; COB1; Flyer; bobbyd; antivenom
2A Bump!


17 posted on 09/29/2002 3:23:13 PM PDT by humblegunner
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To: Sonny M
"These people are idiots."

How many ways can you spell, 'idiot'? Let me count the ways:

Libs with their fibs and their million-strong mommies
Dems with their 'gimmes' supported by commies
Heading the pack as they burgle the store
Are Daschle and Byrd and the bumbling Al Gore.

18 posted on 09/29/2002 3:24:44 PM PDT by Eastbound
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To: Eastbound
Your logic is flawless. Government has overstepped in many ways. The Second Amendment is the most agregious violation because it directly affects an individual's ability to denfend his life, family or property. If you are dead you can't exercise any of the other rights to which you are naturally entitled and, as you say, are deprived of your life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.
19 posted on 09/29/2002 3:30:15 PM PDT by groanup
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To: humblegunner
If I had one of those, I wouldn't break it in two, regardless. :) Thanks for the bump, humblegunner.
20 posted on 09/29/2002 3:31:35 PM PDT by Eastbound
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