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Old February 20, 2013, 06:28 AM   #51
Aguila Blanca
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom Servo
That would be the part that was interpreted by the Supreme Court in 2008.
And your fellow moderator, Frank Ettin, periodically reminds me that the Constitution doesn't say what it says, it says what the Supreme Court says it says. (Okay, that's not exactly what Frank tells me ... but close.) I understand that Justice Scalia's majority opinion in Heller said that the 2nd Amendment right to keep and bear arms is subject to reasonable regulation. But ... that's what Justice Scalia said, that is NOT what the 2nd Amendment said. That only means for now we must proceed as if that's what the 2nd Amendment says, but the reality is (if I may be so bold): Justice Scalia was wrong.

There is quite simply nothing in the 2nd Amendment that opens the door in any way to regulation -- reasonable or unreasonable. Frank points to precedent, to the fact that other rights have historically been regulated. So what? The language is clear and unequivocal: "Shall not be infringed." A regulation IS an infringement. I have pointed out before that the Founders knew the concept of reasonableness. They clearly wrote in the 4th Amendment that we are to be free from "unreasonable" searches and seizures. Certainly, then, if they had intended for the RKBA to be free from "unreasonable" infringement they would have said so. But they didn't. They wrote a clear, complete, unrestricted prohibition against ALL regulation of the RKBA.

It has also been pointed out that, historically, in the "old west" there were a lot of towns that prohibited guns within city limits. Again, so what? The fact it was done and not challenged does not make it correct or proper or constitutional. It's unlikely Joe Cowpoke in 1873 Abilene had any idea that he could sue the town marshal and take his case to some bunch of old men in Washington. Joe Cowpoke may not even have known where Washington was.

Reasonable regulation is what we have to live with, but it is NOT what the 2nd Amendment says.
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Old February 20, 2013, 08:12 AM   #52
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It has also been pointed out that, historically, in the "old west" there were a lot of towns that prohibited guns within city limits. Again, so what? The fact it was done and not challenged does not make it correct or proper or constitutional.
Though I'm not the scholar most of the learned folks here are, I recall that a lot of those towns were in territories, not states. Some weren't even territories when such regulations were enacted at the local level. I fail to see how a challenge could even be made to SCOTUS since they were not part of the United States of America.
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Old February 20, 2013, 08:20 AM   #53
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Quote:
Reasonable regulation is what we have to live with, but it is NOT what the 2nd Amendment says.
The 1st Amendment reads,

Quote:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
There's nothing in there about parade permits, hate speech, or shouting fire in a crowded theater. Yet, such laws have been passed and found constitutional.

Like it or not, there we are. Statements like "where does it say that in the 2nd Amendment" or "what part of 'shall not be infringed' don't they understand" might carry some philosophical weight, but they're naive in light of the contemporary situation.
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Old February 20, 2013, 06:04 PM   #54
Aguila Blanca
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom Servo
Like it or not, there we are. Statements like "where does it say that in the 2nd Amendment" or "what part of 'shall not be infringed' don't they understand" might carry some philosophical weight, but they're naive in light of the contemporary situation.
No, not naive at all. I acknowledge that "reasonable regulation" is what we have to live with because that's what the SCOTUS has ruled, but that doesn't mean we have to forget Reading Comprehension 101 and ignore the reality that the SCOTUS opinion simply is not supported by the language of the law itself.

While I fully acknowledge that we're stuck with it for now, I prefer to always keep in mind what the 2nd Amendment actually says as a reminder to keep the pressure on at all times and at all levels in an effort to move us back to where we should be.
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Old February 22, 2013, 02:33 PM   #55
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Re: It's Time to Choose a Side

Quote:
Originally Posted by Aguila Blanca View Post

It has also been pointed out that, historically, in the "old west" there were a lot of towns that prohibited guns within city limits. Again, so what? The fact it was done and not challenged does not make it correct or proper or constitutional.
It's worth noting that the whole point of the BOR was to restrict the Federal Government. Surely the states wouldn't have insisted on the BOR in order to restrict themselves nor would they have ratified the Constitution if they didn't think they could leave at any time.

A big part of our political trouble today is that everything has been federalized so a person who feels strongly about something no longer has the option of just moving to a state that does things their way.
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Old February 22, 2013, 02:54 PM   #56
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I have written and called my congressman and two senators numerous times. I have also signed up four new members to the NRA. Of course there are opinion blogs on the internet also. We need to be very vocal.
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Old February 22, 2013, 03:22 PM   #57
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