When You Think About the Election, Think About Guns and the Supreme Court
Reader Comments
guns vs cars
guns in the wrong hands are deadly
cars in the wrong hands are deadly
society understands that having a gun is a constitutional right
society understands that having a car is not, nor is being granted a driver license
so, why is it that so many people are anti-gun and not anti-car??
the answer is that it is a prejudice, a bias, an illogical passion of a weak minded and fearful person, a position adopted by enemies of freedom, a position adopted by friends of tyranny
the end
Does anyone fear a total ban on private ownership???
Even though the Supreme Court in Heller stated that no government can impose a total ban on private firearms ownership-a decision endorsed by both McCain and Obama-why would any thinking American (even a gun owner) still fear virtual impossibily of a total gun ban? Strange and paranoid.
States Rights
States rights don't override federal law or rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
guns
Lets stop all of the tragedy stories and look into truth. All gun crimes should carry a minimum of 25 yrs minimum without the chance of parole . Sadly ,criminals plea a lesser sentence with the help of a liberal court. Our God Given rights should never be voted on again. Charlton Heston said it best. And i pity the fools who think that making legal arms bearing into a crime will solve any problems. All the while innocence dies.
Guns
Most states had a clause protecting the individual right to keep and bear arms in their state constitutions (dating from the era when the Bill of Rights was presumed to be incumbent only upon government at the federal level). Later, laws against concealed carry were upheld in state courts by noting that, open carry being legal, they were not infringing the right to bear arms but rather only regulating the mode of carry. However, urban police nowadays tend to harass people who carry openly in those states, arresting them not for carrying guns but for "disturbing the peace" -- hence the push for concealed-carry permit availability.
Valjean of OR, "Allow those who can legally own a gun have them but eliminate the concealed gun permit. If you're packing, show it." It is perhaps because many people claim to feel this way that there are now several organizations dedicated to the promotion of open-carry, and educating police (via the threat of lawsuits) to respect the rights of private citizens who wear their guns openly -- without a permit, as this is their right under their state constitutions.
Guns
If guns cause crime then all of mine must be defective!
gun control
Why don't people for gun control and banning handguns look at crime statistics in England and Australia??!! They are out of sight from what they were before their gun control.
Sure there crazies out there, but I'd rather depend on my own guns than be at the mercy of some criminal who has a gun (and will be able to get one whenever) when I don't!
New Mexico and the MAJORITY of other states have concealled carry laws now. After taking and passing a certified course you are licensed to carry. Seems this is better than nuts who do not know how to use a gun or have never shot a gun spouting off about my right to own a gun.
Logic
If you follow the logic of the above piece you will find it roughly along these lines:
John McCain is a conservative (not!) who will appoint Supreme Court justices that reflect the values of conservative politicians (doubtful since they must come to a vote in a Democrat controlled congress). Since justices like these have rendered a close 5-4 margin in favor of the Second Amendment actually meaning what it says, (take one very great leap) criminals with guns are now empowered to conduct wanton mayhem and cities seeking to continue to violate the Constitution will no longer be allowed to do so. With application of this logic to the First Amendment, I suspect the brown shirts will be coming for the author's computer any day now.
My rights are mine not yours
There is no more argument needed on this subject than to point out it's my right.
Right's by definition are not chosen for me by others. They are not changed over time by the will of the people. They can not be changed by a judge or a court. My rights are mine and they will remain that way until I die. Your rights are yours. One of my rights is to own guns. I can own as many as I want. I can own whatever type I want. That is my right.
Please state for me Masheck what right of yours allows you to decide what rights of mine no longer apply based on your prejudice and fears? We are not a democracy contrary to popular belief. We are a republic and as such my rights are protected from the majority and their opinions.
We have laws to prevent gun crimes. They involve locking people up for comitting those crimes. They can not as a matter of constitutional law take my guns away to prevent crimes. That is a police state action. Treat everyone like criminals because they might actually be criminals.
You sir are a fascist plain and simple and the biggest crime of all is gun bans. The bill of rights are not states rights. These are the rights of the individual. The bill of rights protects ME from the government and YOU.
Yes that is right you can no more take my rights away than the government. A concept that is lost since most people don't realize that we are the government in this country. I will no longer live under the tyranny of anti gun legislation. A free man is no longer free when he is punished like a criminal for having done nothing.
I would rather my entire family be mowed down by machine gun fire than give up the freedom enjoyed by this country. We must all do our part to increase freedom. The price of freedom has always been great but it's the price every American must be willing to pay in order to live free.
Thank God some people actually understood this once in our history. Have you not heard of the term Give me liberty or Give me death?
John W. Mashek covered politics in Washington for four decades with U.S. News & World Report, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and the Boston Globe. His primary beats were Congress, the White House, and national politics. He covered every presidential election from 1960 to 1996. He was a panelist in three televised presidential debates in 1984, 1988, and 1992.