"Suppose the Second Amendment said, 'A well-educated electorate being
necessary for self-governance in a free state, the right of the people
to keep and read books shall not be infringed.' Is there anyone who
would suggest that means only registered voters have a right to read?"
-- Robert A. Levy, Senior Fellow, Cato Institute
I don't like to steal other people's words, but a comment in response to an article here:
http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:8H ... =firefox-astruck me as saying what I wanted to say more perfectly than anything I could come up with.
It is just that the Supreme Court ruled to support an individuals right to own a weapon. They should, however, have explicitly struck down any kind of “regulation.”
A right is something you have. There is no higher authority. You have the right. You don’t have to ask the state, or get a permit, or license.
A privilege is something you have to ask a higher authority for permission for. You must get a permit. “Mommy can I go to the bathroom…”
Right vs. Privilege’s are like light vs. dark - polar opposites. I wish people could understand that. Especially since the 2nd amendment is there to protect us from the state, to secure our rights. So why should we have to ask permission, or get a permit, from the State for our right? It makes no sense, is egregious, and needs to end.
In all reality, this is a quasi-win. The court needed to explicitly strike down any “permits” or regulation that changes the whole purpose of this right into a privilege- a privilege granted by the very entity (the government) that this right is supposed to protect us from.
Thank you sir. Well spoken,
"The Constitution shall never be construed ... to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms."
-Samual Adams
"The ultimate authority ... resides in the people alone. ... The advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation ... forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition."
-James Madison
"Father of the American Constitution"
Federalist Paper 46
"Tyranny is the exercise of some power over a man, which is not warranted by law, or necessary for the public safety. A people can never be deprived of their liberties, while they retain in their own hands, a power sufficient to any other power in the state."
-Noah Webster
Also by Noah Webster:
Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom of Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops that can be, on any pretence, raised in the United States.
Noah Webster, 1787
"An Examination into the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution"
And FINALLY I will shut up with this one.
You hear constantly that America is awash in blood. That we are the most murderous people on Earth. That to walk down a street in any American city is to take your life in your hands. If you believe the media, murderers and rapists lurk around every corner, and here only might is right.
Bullshit. According to the U.S. Dept. of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics,:
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/cvict_c.htmSince 1994, violent crime rates have declined, reaching the lowest level ever recorded in 2005.
Please note that during that same period of time, The number of States which have enacted laws permitting any law abiding citizen to carry a concealed weapon has been steadily climbing. The number of gun in America has also been steadily going up.
Weapon use
In 2005, 24% of the incidents of violent crime, a weapon was present.
Offenders had or used a weapon in 48% of all robberies, compared with 22% of all aggravated assaults and 7% of all rapes/sexual assaults in 2005.
Homicides are most often committed with guns, especially handguns. In 2005, 55% of homicides were committed with handguns, 16% with other guns, 14% with knives, 5% with blunt objects, and 11% with other weapons.
And finally (emphasis added):
During the 1987-1992 period, offenders fired their weapons in
17 percent of all non-fatal handgun crimes, missing the victim
four out of five times. In 3 percent of the non-fatal crimes
committed with handguns, about 21,000 annually, the victim was
wounded. In addition, an average 11,100 were killed each
year.
During the same period an estimated annual average of 62,000
violent crime victims (approximately 1 percent of all violent
crime victims) used a firearm in an effort to defend
themselves. In addition, an annual average of about 20,000
victims of theft, household burglary or motor vehicle theft
attempted to defend their property with guns.
In most cases victims defending themselves with firearms
were confronted by unarmed offenders or those armed with
weapons other than firearms. During the six-year period,
about one in three armed victims faced an armed offender.
"When the legends die, the dreams end. When the dreams end, there is no more greatness."
--Tecumseh
"It is better to be a live jackal than a dead lion."
--King Solomon the Wise
"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." Unless the few are armed.
