The Second Amendment Grants Me Nothing
BY Herschel Smith8 years, 4 months ago
This week Arizona Senator Jeff Flake introduced a bill to prohibit the sale of guns to persons on the No Fly list. This comes on the heels of the deadliest mass shooting in America that occurred June 12 at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando. It’s not surprising to see a flurry of proposals and argument regarding gun control and gun rights after a tragedy involving firearms and typically nothing changes.
The legal argument against Senator Flake’s proposal, and others before it, has to do with due process. Since the right to bear arms is given to us by the Second Amendment to our Constitution and has been affirmed in case law, a person must have due process before that right can be taken away. In other words, they must have their day in court. They must be made aware they are on the list and be afforded the opportunity to fight their presence on the list. Currently this is not done. Those on the list often do not know they are on the list and there are few opportunities, if any, that allow them to fight the designation.
This huge hurdle was recognized and suggestions are contained in the bill that would give some modicum of due process. However, the bill has a long way to go before it becomes a law and, even then, it will face many challenges in court and will likely make its way to the Supreme Court. So, mark your calendar, you could be reading about this anticipated case a couple years from now in #LegallySpeaking.
Let’s be clear about one thing Monica. The second amendment grants me absolutely nothing. The constitution is a covenant wherein parties agree to honor commitments made to each other. A covenant has all the blessings and curses and consequences appertaining to said covenant. The second amendment, like all other rights outlined in the bill of rights, merely codifies the recognition of an already-existing right.
God grants me the right (and even duty) to go armed and conduct myself in a manner consistent with self defense. Not you, and not the constitution, and not black robed tyrants. That means that whatever the outcome of this “day in court” to which you refer, the right to self defense is still present because God said so.
It would actually be a service for you to warn others of your ilk that your designs for control over others will run afoul of God’s commandments. The consequences of this are too numerous to detail here, and include effect both now and in eternity. And tell Jeff Flake we never forget.
On June 25, 2016 at 4:04 pm, Blake said:
Funny you should put something like this up. I was recently contemplating the fact that a lot of people seem to have the idea that rights and privileges are synonymous and therefore subject to the whims of government and the electorate.
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