Date sent: Wed, 15 Mar 2000 16:59:32 -0500
From: "Michael S. Lorrey" <mike@datamann.com>
Organization: Datamann, Inc.
To: extropians@extropy.com
Subject: Re: Righteousness of 2nd Amendment
Send reply to: extropians@extropy.com
> sonb@eden.rutgers.edu wrote:
>
> > On Wed, 15 Mar 2000, Ross A. Finlayson wrote:
> >
> > >
> > > The right to bear arms is EXPLICITLY stated as the second amendment to the
> > > Constitution.
> > >
> > >
> > Ross,
> >
> > Just because a right to bear arms is declared by the Constitution, the
> > bearing of arms is not necessarily right. I'm not taking sides in the gun
> > debate, all I am saying is that a governmental affirmation of something
> > doesn't mean that that something is good, bad or wise.
>
> True, however based on the philosophical foundations that the founding fathers
> shared, that all men are born with inalienable rights (whether it be god, dog,
> nature, what have you that created those rights is irrelevant), the right of
> individuals to defend themselves was quite a commonplace assumption. Madison
> wondered why it was needed only because he could not fathom a society that would
> not take the right to keep and bear arms as foregone conclusion. The
> Constitution does not grant or guarrantee those rights, it merely states what
> rights are delegated by the people to the government, what rights cannot be
> infringed upon for any reason, and reserves all remaining rights, even those not
> even thought of yet, to the people (9th amend) who can delegate those remaining
> rights to their state government if they so choose (10th amend). The right to
> bear arms is not declared by the constitution. The constitution merely states
> one reason why this individual right is a good thing, and that congress shall
> pass no law that infringes upon it. The only SCOTUS case that delves into this
> at any depth is 1939's US v Miller case, where Miller's attorney's never showed
> up to argue the case, and it is documented that the federal prosecutors lied in
> their arguments three or four times. There is a new case, US v. Emerson, that is
> coming up from the appeals court in Texas, where Judge Cummins has done one of
> the most thorough examinations of the 2nd amendment I've ever seen, and which
> may cause most, if not all, gun control laws in the US to be tossed out.
>
> If you wish to debate the merits of an individual's right to defend themselves,
> you will be arguing with most all scholars and philosophers dating back to
> before Aristotle.
> --
>
One of the ways to defend yourself is to pack, and another one is
to keep criminals and crazies from packing.
>
> TANSTAAFL!!!
>
> Michael S. Lorrey
>
> Member, Extropy Institute
> http://www.extropy.org
> Member, National Rifle Association
> http://www.nra.org
> "Live Free or Die, Death is not the Worst of Evils."
> - General John Stark
>
>
>
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