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The author claims:

" --- private entities traditionally are not bound by the restrictions placed upon government, at least as most First-Amendment law has held.

I disagree. All citizens are obligated to support & defend our Constitution, as is evident by our required oath of citizenship.

1 posted on 10/08/2005 12:31:36 PM PDT by faireturn
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" -- Should an employer be able to require his or her employees to forswear any and all possession and ownership of firearms on pain of termination? -- "

No.. -- We made it a public policy 214 years ago that the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

This constitutional restriction applies [subject, of course, to due process of law] to everyone in USA.

2 posted on 10/08/2005 12:48:51 PM PDT by faireturn
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To: faireturn
The historical record isn't even open to debate: the purpose of the Bill of Rights was to explicitly name some (but not all) rights that all persons naturally possess, and that no government has any rightful power to infringe--regardless of the "compelling state interest" that may exist, or the powers that a Constitution may grant. However, the Bill of Rights is not a criminal statute that makes the infringement of an individual's rights a Federal crime when committed by private parties.

More importantly, the general right to property is not the same thing at all as the specific, concrete right to use and/or dispose of a particular item or resource. In other words, the right to property does not give any particular person title to any specific property--it just means that an individual has the right to acquire title to property (provided the previous owner is willing to transfer title,) and that having title to property gives the owner the right to decide how, when, where and by whome said property will be used.

Similary, the right to keep and bear arms does not mean that the government (or anyone else) has to provide you with at least one gun and one bullet, free of charge. Nor does it mean that you have the right to get or stay hired by an employer, regardless of your politics, religion, sexual orientation or gun ownership status.

You have the right to own a gun. An employer has the right to deny you employment for any reason whatsoever--or for no reason at all. A right confers freedom of action within some defined scope or domain, but it stops where that domain ends (as defined by title or its equivalent,) or where the specific rights of others (as defined by title or its equivalent) would be violated. The key concept is title, which is necessary to define which particular items or resources are actually owned by which parties.

3 posted on 10/08/2005 1:02:16 PM PDT by sourcery (Givernment: The way the average voter spells "government.")
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To: faireturn

I'm waiting to see how this all shakes out - and what side the courts will fall on (although I have my suspicions).

It is my opinion that the 2nd Amendment is the law of the land, the vehicle is private property, and that the employer has no right to dictate to the employee what he may or may not keep in his vehicle.

At work and on the premises is another matter. Although, I am just waiting for the first lawsuit of an employer who denied a CCW the right to self defense, posted the "no guns allowed" signs (an open invitation), and then provided no security for the employees who were then defenseless, sitting ducks. That issue begins the REAL debate!


7 posted on 10/08/2005 6:40:37 PM PDT by Dittohead68
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To: faireturn

I couldn't have said it better myself. Kudos...


23 posted on 10/09/2005 6:38:57 AM PDT by Dead Corpse (Anyone who needs to be persuaded to be free, doesn't deserve to be. -El Neil)
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