On 10/14/06, Bruce Marshall <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
[snip]
>
> Never mind.... Here's something from just my first hit on googling "Supreme
> court 2nd amendment"
>
> http://www.thefiringline.com/Misc/library/kates.html
>
>
>
> The Supreme Court therefore views the words "the people" in the Second
> Amendment to have the same meaning as in the First, Fourth, Ninth, and Tenth
> Amendments. If "the people" really meant the right of states to maintain a
> militia, then we would be left with the absurd notion that only the states
> have the right to peaceably assemble, only the states have the right to be
> secure in their persons and property, etc. The Supreme Court's position is
> indisputable: the Second Amendment protects the individual right to bear
> arms. Also instructive is the Report of the Subcommittee on the Constitution
> of the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, 97th Congress,
> Second Session (February 1982):
>
> The conclusion is thus inescapable that the history, concept, and wording
> of the second amendment to the Constitution of the United States, as well as
> its interpretation by every major commentator and court in the first
> half-century after its ratification, indicates that what is protected is an
> individual right of a private citizen to own and carry firearms in a peaceful
> manner.
>
Ahh. The rub. As much as the second amendment specifically talks to
firearms, I propose that they chose firearms as more a symbol of the
most "offensive" (using that to mean "to people's sensibilities", not
the use of force offensive) thing they could find. I don't know who
added "in a peaceful manner", but that would certainly be implied
because to act otherwise would clash with others' rights to life,
liberty, and the pursuit of women^H^H^H^H^H^Hhappiness.
At any rate, as long as your "rights" don't tromple mine, and more
importantly, the government doesn't tromple our rights (or either of
us for that matter), we're on the right track. Unfortunately, I think
with this nazi homeland security stupidity, all bets are off. Why
hasn't the consitutionality of that agency, and the Patriot Act itself
been challenged?
Are people really afraid? And of what?
Ciao,
David A. Bandel
--
Focus on the dream, not the competition.
- Nemesis Air Racing Team motto
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