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.
-- 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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