THE
CONSTITUTION DOES NOT PROTECT THE RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS
The Second Amendment
states:
"A well-regulated
militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of
the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."
There is no ambiguity in
the second amendment! It was written during a time when every citizen
in our newly formed country was a member of the militia. As a member
of the militia the rights of the citizens to carry arms was
protected. The militia no longer exists. The NRA is not a militia
and cannot claim that the Second Amendments guarantees their right to
own and carry arms. The militia referred to in the Constitution has
been replaced in our modern era by the National Guard in each and
every state. Technically they are the only citizens allowed to carry
weapons under the guidelines of the Second Amendment.
The National Guard serves
a dual role. Most of the time, it’s under the control of individual
states, with the state governor acting as commander in chief.
However, the president can activate the National Guard and place it
under federal control. When this occurs, guard units are used to
supplement the regular Army, bolstering its forces with additional
combat units.
The founding fathers made
the assumption that the weapons of the militia (flint loaded muskets
and pistols) would be used to fight the colonial British forces that
were suppressing our struggle for freedom. They had no perception or
desire that those weapons would be used against our own citizens nor
did they have the vision to foresee the day when atomic bombs, drones, satellites, and super automatic
assault weapons would be developed. This unfortunately has become
the challenge and dilemma facing modern day America! Our citizens
armed with Automatic Assault Weapons are killing innocent children
and citizens at an accelerating and alarming rate. Without intelligent GUN
CONTROL these horrible incidents will continue to increase unchecked!
The New Town shooting was
a recent mass shooting that brought these horrible slaughters into
sharp focus. Twenty children and seven adults were murdered.
Outcries from all over America demanding GUN CONTROL saturated our
social medias and thousands of petitions were sent to Congress!
Therein lies the problem! Our politicians in Washington have been
bought and paid for directly by the NRA and Lobbyists for the NRA!
The NRA opposes GUN CONTROL in any form using the Constitution as
their defense. As my beginning paragraphs have shown, the
Constitution does not protect their right to carry firearms and
especially Automatic Assault Weapons! Their control of Congress is
so strong that in an emboldened press release they tauntingly state
that Congress will not pass GUN CONTROL LAWS! The NRA is powerful
but it not above the LAW and they are not impervious to the demands
of the AMERICAN PEOPLE! We will not stop fighting until comprehensive
GUN CONTROL LAWS are passed. We will not let our politicians get
away without protecting every American from the murderers of innocent
children and citizens with Automatic Assault Weapons!
Mother Jones magazine has
produced some very informational charts about mass shootings. This
first chart show casualties from 1982 to 2012.
This chart shows the
number and types of weapons used in mass murders. Note the rapid
increase in Semiautomatic Handguns and Automatic Assault Weapons.
This last chart shows how
the shooter obtained the weapons used in the mass murders. Note that
in almost 50 of the 60 assaults the shooter obtained the weapons
legally! This points out dramatically the flaw in our overall system
of procurement of weapons and must be addressed in a more
comprehensive GUN CONTROL LAW. If it is so easy to procure Automatic
Assault Weapons legally the laws must be changed to prevent it's
purchase! No citizen has the need for an Automatic Assault Weapon!
Lets Look At Some More
Information:
The US has the highest gun
ownership rate in the world - there are 89 guns for every 100
Americans, compared to 6 for every 100 persons in England and Wales.
The murder figures
themselves are astounding! The British had around 550 murders per
year in 2011. There were 12,664 murders in the US in 2011 with 8,583
being caused by firearms.
This chart is even more
illuminating: It compares households with guns versus gun homicides
for major countries around the world. It shows that for every 100 households in America that have guns (red line) there are about 70 firearm
homicides (blue line). Homicides include murders, suicides, accidental
shootings, and self defense shootings. Be sure to compare America's
numbers with all the other countries!
This interesting chart
brings the numbers from the previous chart into focus. These number
are from 2011 and show 10,728 deaths in America from handguns. These
numbers have dropped to 9, 928 in 2012 (smile). The NRA has jumped on these decreasing numbers in crimes to defend their battle against tougher GUN CONTROL LAWS. They say that gun sales are skyrocketing while at the same time crime rate is decreasing therefore owning guns are not the problem but are actually contributing to the decreasing crime rate. WRONG! Lets first take a look at
their propaganda!
Simple and to the point!
Now lets look at some
statistics that seems to support the NRA. It is estimated that 19
million firearms have been purchased in 2012, shattering the all-time
record of eleven million sales set in 2011. At the same time the FBI
has released a report showing that violent crimes decreased for the
fifth straight year in the United States, nearing an all-time low
that has not been seen in decades. There were an estimated 1,203,564
violent crimes in 2011.
Here is the chart showing
the actual FBI stats. They sure seem to support the NRA claim that
increasing gun sales and ownership are actually having an impact on
violent crimes. WRONG!
Here is why they are
wrong: Each of the four violent crime offense estimates decreased
when compared with the 2010 estimates. Robbery had the largest
decrease at 4.0 percent, followed by aggravated assault with a 3.9
percent decline, forcible rape with a 2.5 percent decline, and murder
and non negligent manslaughter with a 0.7 percent decrease. The types of crimes in
this report have very little if anything to do with murders from Automatic
Assault Weapons! Separate statistics show that deaths from Assault
Weapons are accelerating at an ominous rate.
I am going to be very
generous to the NRA and say that gun ownership may have a miniscule
impact on the decreasing violent crimes. The actual decrease is the
result of coordinated efforts between the FBI and law enforcement
agencies across the nation. Sharing of new technology, training,
increased manpower, databases, procedures, and improved response
times to crimes are the real reasons impacting these reductions in
violent crime. Our law enforcement deserves most if not all the
applause! Shame on the NRA for trying to take credit!
I am interrupting this
blog to let you know that I just watched the press release given by
President Obama and Vice President Biden on the bold actions they are
taking to do what they can to reduce gun violence in America.
Despite the strong opposition of the “Do Nothing Congress, the NRA,
special interest groups, and the super rich, this Dynamic Duo and
their loyal supporters in Congress and the Senate, boldly stand
united in their resolve and commitment to the innocent victims and
their families of the horrible slaughters by guns! They are true
Americans serving the American people and deserve the applaud and
support of every American that supports enactment of strong,
effective, and intelligent Gun Control Laws! This is going to be a
long hard battle! We must all stand united behind our President and
Vice President! We can win this battle!
In a show of resolve,
strength, and determination President Obama signed 23 Executive Orders that
do not require the backing of lawmakers! The president's executive
actions include ordering federal agencies to make more data available
for background checks, appointing a director of the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and directing the Centers
for Disease Control to research gun violence. This is only a
beginning step but the real action must still come from the lawmakers
in the Congress and Senate. There is where the opposition is and
that is where the real battle will be won or lost! This Blog is
prepared to do everything it can, with your support and help, to take
this battle to our grid locked politicians in Washington. Together we
can do it!
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This is not funny! It shows the disgusting mentally that saturates the NRA! Proudly showing their children with guns at a time when innocent children were killed in Newtown is an insult to every parent who lost their children in that massacre! It is an insult and mockery to all Americans that are demanding sensible gun control! It also begs the question as to how many guns do they really have in an NRA household and why? It also asks the question as to what NRA members are teaching their children?
Hate Groups are another
part of the Gun Control Debate that must be included for obvious
reasons. They are more likely to purchase Automatic Assault Weapons
for their clandestine and radical agendas illegally to avoid bringing
unwanted attention to their cause. Membership numbers for these
groups are very sketchy. The following information is taken directly
from the website of The Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization
that monitors hate groups and extremists throughout the United
States.
As of 2011 there were
1,018 known hate groups operating across the country, including
neo-Nazis, Klansmen, white nationalists, neo-Confederates, racist
skinheads, black separatists, border vigilantes and others. And
their numbers are growing. Estimates indicate that hate groups will
rise to over 1,230 in 2013. Estimates also suggest that over 10% of
the total U.S. households either belong to or actively support hate
groups. That's a whopping 11 million potential customers for
Semiautomatic Assault Weapons!
Since 2000, the number of
hate groups has increased by 69 percent. This surge has been fueled
by anger and fear over the nation’s ailing economy, an influx of
non-white immigrants, and the diminishing white majority, as
symbolized by the election of the nation’s first African-American
president.
“Obama represents a
shift change that is so scary to so many people. He represents in a
very graphic way, the racial change that is happening in our
population at large.”
These factors also are
feeding a powerful resurgence of the antigovernment “Patriot”
movement, which in the 1990s led to a string of domestic terrorist
plots, including the Oklahoma City bombing. The number of Patriot
groups, including armed militias, grew by 755 percent in the first
three years of the Obama administration – from 149 at the end of
2008 to 1,274 in 2011.
This growth in extremism
has been aided by mainstream media figures and politicians who have
used their platforms to legitimize false propaganda about immigrants
and other minorities and spread the kind of paranoid conspiracy
theories on which militia groups thrive.
These 1,018 different hate
groups are classified into the following ideological agendas:
Anti-Gay, Anti-Immigrant,
Anti-Muslim, Black Separatist, Christian Identity, Holocaust Denial,
Ku Klux Klan, Neo-Confederate, Neo-Nazi, Patriot Movement, Racist
Skinhead, Radical Traditional Catholicism, Sovereign Citizens
Movement, and White Nationalist.
Hate
groups are not the only source of dissent in America. Our
entire country is a boiling, festering cauldron of anger,
frustration, and unrest. Hopefully the majority of American citizens
will vent their emotions though positive and peaceful protest, but
there will be some that will express their anger though violent
retaliation. The breaking point and the ability to handle stress is
unfortunately greatly different for each individual. Here are some
of the causes of unrest among our citizens. Now you may think that I
am deviating from the objective of this blog but I am not. This
festering and anger that is increasing in America is all the more
reason to implement and pass Gun Control Laws! It must protect
America from hate groups and it must also protect Americans from
themselves!
There are 12.2 million
unemployed workers in America. This does not include the 5-8 million
99ers that have fallen off the radar. These people are angry and
losing patience with the obstructionism in our 'DO NOTHING CONGRESS
watching them do everything they can to block our President's
attempts to straighten out our countries economy and doing nothing to
create jobs!
In 2012 there were over 56
million Americans on Social Security! Most of these citizens are
living at near poverty levels of existence. Every time Congress goes
into negotiations about budget cuts they try to make cuts to Social
Security. These people worked and paid into Social Security all of
their lives. The miniscule cost of living adjustments although
appreciated do absolutely nothing to improve their quality of living
or even keep pace with the skyrocketing prices of gasoline,
utilities, food, and everyday necessities. They are angry and
frustrated at the GOP Congress for trying to reduce entitlements that
they have paid into all their life and have been plundered by
Republican wastefulness, wars, pork barreling, mismanagement, etc.
In 2011, over a hundred
million low-income, disabled, and elderly beneficiaries will be
served by the two programs of Medicare and Medicaid. People who have
paid Medicare taxes on their earnings are automatically eligible at
age 65, but some people with disabilities qualify for Medicare
coverage earlier than age 65, and people with end-stage renal disease
qualify at any age. Medicaid is a health insurance program funded by
both the federal government and state governments to provide coverage
to Americans of all ages who have low incomes and no health
insurance. Of course they are angry, frustrated and depressed. They see
the GOP Congress fighting to increase Military spending and at the
same time demanding cuts to Medicare and Medicaid that are the
lifeline for over 100 million American citizens. War is more
important to the greedy self serving Republicans than the lives of
our low income, disabled and elderly. They built this country and
deserve better.
After four years of
lockstep obstructionism by the 'DO NOTHING CONGRESS' the American
people sent an overwhelming mandate to Republicans to stop the BS by
reelecting President Obama. Now anyone with have a brain would have
been able to understand the message that America was delivering to
them. But the Republicans have chosen to ignore the voice of America
and continue their lockstep obstructionism. The people of America
are angry, no not really angry, they are pissed off! Those that
prefer peace over violence will be launching an all out campaign to
remove as many Republicans from office in 2014 as they can. They
will protest your obstructionism using every social media to expose
you before the world. And yes there will be some that will resort to
violence because you give them no hope of change. They ask so little
and you give them nothing in return! It is so sad that you would
risk destroying America for a few wealthy individuals!
Class warfare is a
reality! In Congress, nearly half the members are millionaires! No
wonder they are voting against tax increases and tax reform for the
wealthy! They are the ENEMY! Before you misconstrue my words I must
say that there are some extremely wealthy members in both the House
and Senate that are fighting for tax reform and increased taxes for
the rich. They are all Democrats. This ongoing battle in Congress
has infuriated the American people and their patience is wearing
thin! They sent a message to Congress in 2012 and will send another
message in 2014. Here again, those who have given up on solving
these issues thorough power of the vote may choose to take more
aggressive and violent actions!
The population of the
United States is increasing at an incredible rate. In 1900 the
population was 80 million. In 2010 it was 300 million. It is
estimated to increase to 400 million by the year 2050! To support
this expanding population revenues must be increased! To make money
you must spend money! To invest in the future you must have
increased revenues to invest! Money must be invested in education,
housing, creating jobs, infrastructure, energy, technology, defense,
world trade, medicine, regulation of environmental violations,
regulation constraints on banks and Wall Street, etc. Money must be available
for natural disasters, drought, forest fires, floods, tornadoes, and
hurricanes. This is not about rich vs. the middle class and poor!
It is about what must be done to insure the success and continuance
of America in the 21 first century. It is about increasing revenues
to support the future of a growing America. The rich must begin to
invest in America by creating more jobs, and contributing their fair
share to this great country. This means paying more in taxes,
closing loopholes in the tax system that only the wealthy can take
advantage of! They must stop shipping jobs overseas and hiding their
money in offshore accounts in order to avoid paying taxes! Everyone,
rich, middle class, and poor must begin to work together! We are all
Americans and must defend and invest in Americas future. Everyone
will benefit if we do this! Otherwise Class Warfare and violence
will destroy all that our founding fathers envisioned and fought for!
I could continue to add
more issues that highlight the reasons for the growing unrest in
America but I think I have made my point. I am now going to continue
my discussion about Gun Control. First let me say this about Gun
Control. Our intention should not be to remove guns from any
citizen. The right to own firearms is an inalienable right just as
all Americans have the right to Freedom of Speech, Freedom of
Privacy, Freedom to Vote, Freedom of Religion, Freedom to choose your
sex partner, Freedom to have an abortion, and Freedom from
discrimination based on sex, gender, race, religion, physical
illness, wealth or poverty. For clarity I am going to repeat my
opening statements about the Second Amendment protection for gun
owners.
The Second Amendment
states:
"A well-regulated
militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of
the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."
There is no ambiguity in
the second amendment! It was written during a time when every citizen
in our newly formed country was a member of the militia. As a member
of the militia the rights of the citizens to carry arms was
protected. The militia no longer exists. The NRA is not a militia
and cannot claim that the Second Amendments guarantees their right to
own and carry arms. The militia referred to in the Constitution has
been replaced in our modern era by the National Guard in each and
every state. Technically they are the only citizens allowed to carry
weapons under the guidelines of the Second Amendment.
The National Guard serves
a dual role. Most of the time, it’s under the control of individual
states, with the state governor acting as commander in chief.
However, the president can activate the National Guard and place it
under federal control. When this occurs, guard units are used to
supplement the regular Army, bolstering its forces with additional
combat units.
The founding fathers made
the assumption that the weapons of the militia (flint loaded muskets
and pistols) would be used to fight the colonial British forces that
were suppressing our struggle for freedom. They had no perception or
desire that those weapons would be used against our own citizens nor
did they have the vision to foresee the day when super automatic
assault weapons would be developed. This unfortunately has become
the challenge and dilemma facing modern day America! Our citizens
armed with Automatic Assault Weapons are killing innocent children
and citizens at an accelerating and alarming rate. Without
intelligent GUN CONTROL these horrible incidents will continue to
increase unchecked!
JUDGE SCALIA: A SUPREME
COURT JUDGE STRADDLING THE FENCE!
While not explicitly
arguing in favor of stricter regulations, Judge
Scalia suggested there’s room for more gun control legislation in
relation to “modern weapons” of the 21st century during an
interview with Fox News Sunday on July 29, 2012, shortly after the
deadly theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado: The following is a copy
of the interview with Chris Wallace and Judge Scalia.
CHRIS WALLACE: You wrote
in 2008, the opinion in District of Columbia v. Heller, the majority
opinion that said the Second Amendment means what it says, people
have a right to bear arms. Question: how far does that constitutional
right go? Can a legislature ban semiautomatic
weapons or can it ban magazines that carry 100 rounds without
violating an individual’s constitutional right to bear arms?
ANTONIN SCALIA: What
the opinion Heller said is that it will have to be decided in future
cases. What limitations upon the right to bear arms are permissible.
Some undoubtedly are, because there were some that were acknowledged
at the time. For example, there was a tort called affrighting,
which if you carried around a really horrible weapon just to scare
people, like a head ax or something, that was I believe a
misdemeanor. So yes, there are some limitations
that can be imposed. What they are will depend on what the society
understood was reasonable limitation. There were certainly location
limitations where –
CHRIS WALLACE: But
what about these technological limitations? Obviously, we’re not
talking about a handgun or a musket. We’re talking about a weapon
that can fire a hundred shots in a minute.
ANTONIN SCALIA: We’ll
see. I mean, obviously, the amendment does not apply to arms that
cannot be hand-carried. It’s to keep and bear. So, it doesn’t
apply to cannons. But I suppose there are handheld rocket launchers
that can bring down airplanes that will have to be–it will have to
be decided.
CHRIS WALLACE: So, how do
you decide if you’re a textualist?
ANTONIN SCALIA: Very
carefully. My starting point and ending point probably will be what
limitations are within the understood limitations that the society
had at the time. They had some limitation on the nature of arms that
could be born. So, we’ll see what those limitations are as applied
to modern weapons.
As I read Antonin Scalia's
response I had a very unsettling feeling that I was hearing a man
that knew more than he was saying. I felt like I was hearing a man
trying to cover his butt! It has been alleged that Scalia and the
NRA shared a cooperative interest in limiting Gun Control
legislation. So I decided to dig more into this possibility. I was
right. I found this incredible article that not only supports my
interpretation of the Second Amendment, it gives proof of how Judge
Scalia used his influence to completely eliminate other Supreme
Court Judges opposing views and interpretations on the Second
Amendment. The entire article is too long for this blog but I have
included a link to this unprecedented and important information at the end of this blog. You
must read it. There is enough information there to ensure the right
to impose Gun Restriction Laws legally! Don't miss reading it.
1/20/2013: As I am working
on this blog news about another shooting came over the news. Here are
the highlights from the article.
A teenager shot dead two
adults and three children inside a Albuquerque home, authorities in
New Mexico said on Sunday. It was not immediately known what kind of
gun, or guns, were used in the Albuquerque shooting, but police said
weapons including a semi-automatic military-style rifle had been
found at the house. The boy – whose age has not been released –
has been booked on two counts of murder and three of child abuse
resulting in death.
This insanity continues to
escalate while gun proponents and the NRA are holding protests
against Gun Control based on violation of their Second Amendment
Rights! They have no rights under the Second Amendment! Pass Gun
Control NOW!
I spent the entire day
yesterday watching the inauguration events for the greatest President
in the history of the United States and the greatest leader the world
has ever seen! I'm going to digress again to take time to pay
tribute to President Obama, Michelle Obama, their two beautiful
daughters, Vice President Biden, his beautiful wife, and their
family. Their love and commitment to each other and their families, to America, the
American people, and the American dream for every American consumed
and overwhelmed every word, every emotion, and every event of the
day! So many times I could do nothing but allow the tears to flow
down my cheeks being overcome by the love of the moment. The words
of his Inauguration Speech shall forever ripple into the infinity of
time, forever into the evolving future of America and the world. God
has truly blessed the world and America with two of the greatest
leaders the world has ever seen. They will always share a sacred
place along with our founding fathers, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther
King and other leaders that have inspired, sacrificed, and changed
the destiny of America! God Bless America!
And now I must get back to
the issue of Gun Control!
Two decades have passed
since former President Clinton made political history by getting
Congress to pass a ban on assault weapons in 1994. Congress failed
to renew the ban in 2004. The very fact that Congress passed a ban
on assault weapons completely eliminates the NRA's argument that it
violates their Second Amendment rights.
The Assault Weapons Ban
failed to be reinstated under the watch of George W. Bush and Dick
Cheney. Although Bush stated publicly that he was for banning
Assault Weapons, privately both he and Chaney were extreme Pro War,
Pro Gun supporters. Congress as usual put politics before doing what
was right. Their political careers were being threatened by the NRA
if they passed Gun Control legislation. Other succumbed to the
monetary incentives from the NRA, their Lobbyists, gun manufacturers,
and other special interest groups. In other words they sold out to
the rich just like they are doing today!
The NRA contends that a decade of restricting semiautomatic weapons has done nothing to reduce crime -- and that removing the restrictions would do nothing to increase it.
"These guns were rarely used in crime before the ban. They were rarely used in crime during the ban. And, it's safe to say they will rarely be used in crime after the ban," said Chris W. Cox, the NRA's chief lobbyist.
I am now going to debunk their two arguments. The NRA and their
Lobbyists are trying to muddle the issue by comparing total crimes
instead of only comparing shootings using Automatic Assault Weapons.
This is what the Assault Weapons Ban is about! Their comparison is
totally ludicrous and is like comparing a peanut to pumpkin! Thanks
to Mother Jones Magazine the above modified chart is just comparing
mass murders using assault weapons over the last 29 years. The
original chart just showed the totals for each year. What I did was
divide the chart into three sections: 10 years preceding the Clinton
era Gun Control Ban, 10 years during the Ban, and 9 years after the
Ban was abolished. I then added up the totals in each division and
averaged the totals for each division coming up with an average for
each year in each division. The results are show on the chart and
summarized below.
It clearly shows a
decrease in deaths and victims in the ten years preceding the ban and
the ten years during the ban. Even though the ban was flawed with
loopholes, it definitely was reducing the numbers of deaths and
victims! It also shows a dramatic increases in deaths and victims in
the 9 years after the ban expired. The ban was working and now must
be reinstated by congress! It must be updated with all the
recommendations proposed by President Obama, include all parts of the
recently passed Assault Weapons Ban pass by New York. In addition it
must include registration of all Assault Weapons currently owned with
severe penalties including criminal prosecutions of all individuals
refusing to register such weapons. It should include criminal
prosecutions for selling guns at trade shows, online, and other
retail sources that do not run background checks and comply with the
restrictions of the Automatic Weapons Ban! Every loophole in the
original Clinton Assault Weapons Ban must be closed.
In January 2013 there have
already been four shootings on college campuses and at least three
shootings in private homes! It is getting worse! CONGRESS, It is
time to pass an Assault Weapons ban NOW! I CONCLUDE MY CASE!
AS OF TODAY I WILL BE
TWEETING THIS BLOG TO EVERY MEMBER OF CONGRESS! I WILL BE ASKING MY
TWITTER FRIEND TO DO THE SAME. THE PRECIOUS LIVES OF OUR CHILDREN
AND INNOCENT VICTIMS ARE INVALUABLE AND CONGRESS NEEDS TO STOP
ACCEPTING MONEY FROM THE NRA, THEIR LOBBYISTS, AND THE SPECIAL
INTEREST GROUPS THAT OPPOSE GUN CONTROL! IF THEY CONTINUE TO PLACE MONEY OVER THE PROTECION OF AMERICANS WE WILL EXPOSE EACH OF THEM TO ALL AMERICANS AND VOTE THEM OUT OF
OFFICE IN 2014. SHAPE UP OR WE WILL SHIP YOU OUT!
Here is the link to the special article:
Overview: America's Gun
and Violence Crisis; And: How the 2nd Amendment Got Hijacked by the
NRA and Antonin Scalia.. Just click on the “Go To” to read the
article GO TO
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