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John (Jack) R. Venrick [jacksranch@skynetbb.com]
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----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, June 28, 2010 3:05 PM
Subject: Supreme Court says you can 'keep and bear arms'
![3D"WND](3D"2010-12-5SupremeCourtsaysyoucan'keepandbeararms'_files/image001.gif")
WEAPONS OF CHOICE<=
/span>
Supreme Court says you can 'keep and bear a=
rms'
Striking Chicago handgun ban cle=
ars
way to challenge long list of restrictions, rules
Posted:
June 28, 2010
By
Bob Unruh
© 20=
10 WorldNetDaily
![](3D"2010-12-5SupremeCourtsaysyoucan'keepandbeararms'_files/image002.jpg")
The Supreme Court
ruling in a Chicago gun ban case that found individu=
als
across the nation do, under the Constitution, have a right to bear arms =
has
opened the door for a long list of legal chall=
enges
to city, county and other rules and regulations<=
/span>
that now may infringe of the 2nd Amendment, according to several civil righ=
ts
organizations.
"This kind =
of
flips the burden onto the government and legislatures to show why they need=
to
restrict what the court has already said is an indiv=
idual
right," John Velleco, the director of federal affairs for Gun Owners of America, told WND today af=
ter
the high court's decision was released.
In the Supreme C=
ourt's
second major ruling on gun rights in just a few years, the justices used the
14th Amendment to extend the federally protected right to "keep and be=
ar
arms" from the U.S. Constitution to residents of all 50 states.
In the 2008 Hell=
er
case, the court ruled that the 2nd Amendment's right to be armed was an
individual right, but that case pertained only to the
"The right =
to
keep and bear arms must be regarded as a substantive guarantee, not a
prohibition that could be ignored so long as the States legislated in an
evenhanded manner," Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the majority.
"This is a
tremendous victory for the 2nd Amendment," Velleco said. "It opens
the door of the courtroom for us to look at laws in many other jurisdictions
where there are highly restrictive gun laws."
He noted it once=
was
accepted as an individual right to bear arms – in all states. But
the "social climate" of the 1960s with the assassinations of two
Kennedy brothers as well as Martin Luther King Jr. launched "gun contr=
ol
activists" on their way.
The 1970s follow=
ed
with "a lot of hype about a total ban on handguns with the media on
board," he said. Assault weapon bans came up shortly later.
"Through the
constant barrage of media, … a whole generation grew up thinking guns
were bad," he said. "Now that's completely turned around. Maybe t=
he
ideological 22-year-old college students, 10-15 years later, have a family,
have something to protect, and they realize if I'm ever attacked, police ca=
nnot
be there immediately."
He said the deci=
sion
aligns with the sentiment in the country where more and more people are
rejecting the concept of a total big government control over or responsibil=
ity
for individuals' lives.
"We've seen=
that
throughout this election cycle," he said. "That's why voters are
turning out in record numbers and throwing out of office … incumbents=
.
"[These are]
people who are fed up with this Congress and this president shoving things =
down
our throats."
According to Alan
Gottlieb, executive vice president for the =
Second
Amendment Foundation, his organization views the decision now as a
"call to action."
"This morni=
ng's
high court ruling clearly shows that the right of the individual citizen to
have a gun is constitutionally protected in every corner of the United
States," Gottlieb said. "We are already preparing to challenge ot=
her
highly restrictive anti-gun laws across the country. Our objective is to win
back our firearms freedoms one lawsuit at a time."
"Thanks to =
the
Supreme Court," Gottlieb observed, "average Chicago residents like
Mr. McDonald will now enjoy the same right of self-defense as a squad of
bodyguards provides to Mayor Richard Daley. Now we can work to lower the
deplorable violent crime rate in Chicago, something that the anti-gun mayor=
's
policies have been unable to accomplish."
U.S. House Minor=
ity
Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said it was just a matter of common sense.
"It would r=
emind
us that the job of the Supreme Court is enforcing and protecting our rights=
and
the clear meaning of our Constitution – not inventing new ways to adv=
ance
liberal public policy goals by legislating from the bench and straining to
discern previously undiscovered partisan advantage in the 'penumbras' of our
laws," he said.
He cited the hea=
rings
in the Senate, which also began today, on strict anti-military activist Ele=
na
Kagan, who has been nominated by President Obama for the U.S. Supreme Court=
.
"The Americ=
an
people deserve an advocate for the Constitution on the highest court in the
land – not an advocate for liberal ideology or the Democrat Party,&qu=
ot;
he said.
The sentiment al=
so is
being reflected by what is going on at the state level. Al=
ready,
eight states have adopted laws that specifically exempts guns made, sold and
kept inside the states from any federal gun regulations.
A court case alr=
eady
has developed over that effort in Montana – the first state to take t=
he
step of ordering federal regulators to stay out of the state's business of
regulating its own citizenry's weapons.
In one state, Wy=
oming,
lawmakers even adopted a $2,000 penalty for federal agents trying to enforce
federal regulations against an exempted weapon.
WND
columnist John Stossel also noted just days ago how "more guns mea=
ns
– hold onto your seat – less
crime."
"How can th=
at be,
when guns kill almost 30,000 Americans a year? Because while we hear about =
the
murders and accidents, we don't often hear about the crimes stopped becau=
se
would-be victims showed a gun and scared criminals away. Those thwarted cri=
mes
and lives saved usually aren't reported to police (sometimes for fear the g=
un
will be confiscated), and when they are reported, the media tend to ignore
them. No bang, no news," he said.
"If guns sa= ve lives, it logically follows that gun laws cost lives," he continued. <= o:p>
"Suzanna Hu=
pp and
her parents were having lunch at Luby's cafeteria in Killeen, Texas, when a=
man
began shooting diners with his handgun, even stopping to reload. Suzanna's
parents were two of the 23 people killed. (Twenty more were wounded.) Suzan=
na
owned a handgun, but because Texas law at the time did not permit her to ca=
rry it
with her, she left it in her car. She's confident that she could have stopp=
ed
the shooting spree if she had her gun. (Texas has since changed its law.)&q=
uot;
The McDonald cas=
e was
brought by Illinois State Rifle Association and the Second Amendment Founda=
tion.
The case, McDona=
ld v.
Chicago, challenged a 7th Circuit court ruling that said the 2nd Amendment
applies only to federal regulation of an individual's right to guns and not=
in
cases of restrictions by states and municipalities like Chicago and Oak Par=
k,
Ill.
The Second Amend=
ment
to the U.S. Constitution states: "A well-regulated Militia, being
necessary to the security of a free State, the right of t=
he
people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
Furthermore, Sec=
tion 1
of the 14th Amendment, or the Privileges or Immunities Clause, states:
All persons born or naturalized = in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of= the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizen= s of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty,= or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
The plaintiffs a=
rgued
"the right of the people to keep and bear arms" in the Second
Amendment is "incorporated" into the 14th Amendment and applies to
both states and localities.
As =
WND
reported, even the historically liberal 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appea=
ls
in California has ruled the 2nd Amendment right to keep and bear arms is
"deeply rooted in this nation's history and tradition" and long h=
as
been regarded as the "true palladium of liberty," so it therefore
must be applied against state and local government weapon restrictions as w=
ell
as federal gun limits.
Here's everything you nee=
d to
know about firearms and ammunition