Rudy on gun control: "You've got to REGULATE consistent with the Second Amendment"

FOX News ^ | Feb 6, 2007 | Hanity and Colmes

[Jim Robinson]

HANNITY: Let me move on. And the issue of guns has come up a lot. When people talk about Mayor Giuliani, New York City had some of the toughest gun laws in the entire country. Do you support the right of people to carry handguns?

GIULIANI: I understand the Second Amendment. I support it. People have the right to bear arms. When I was mayor of New York, I took over at a very, very difficult time. We were averaging about 2,000 murders a year, 10,000...

HANNITY: You inherited those laws, the gun laws in New York?

GIULIANI: Yes, and I used them. I used them to help bring down homicide. We reduced homicide, I think, by 65-70 percent. And some of it was by taking guns out of the streets of New York City.

So if you're talking about a city like New York, a densely populated area like New York, I think it's appropriate. You might have different laws other places, and maybe a lot of this gets resolved based on different states, different communities making decisions. After all, we do have a federal system of government in which you have the ability to accomplish that.

HANNITY: So you would support the state's rights to choose on specific gun laws?

GIULIANI: Yes, I mean, a place like New York that is densely populated, or maybe a place that is experiencing a serious crime problem, like a few cities are now, kind of coming back, thank goodness not New York, but some other cities, maybe you have one solution there and in another place, more rural, more suburban, other issues, you have a different set of rules.

HANNITY: But generally speaking, do you think it's acceptable if citizens have the right to carry a handgun?

GIULIANI: It's not only -- I mean, it's part of the Constitution. People have the right to bear arms. Then the restrictions of it have to be reasonable and sensible. You can't just remove that right. You've got to regulate, consistent with the Second Amendment.

HANNITY: How do you feel about the Brady bill and assault ban?

GIULIANI: I was in favor of that as part of the crime bill. I was in favor of it because I thought that it was necessary both to get the crime bill passed and also necessary with the 2,000 murders or so that we were looking at, 1,800, 1,900, to 2,000 murders, that I could use that in a tactical way to reduce crime. And I did.

[Rb ver. 2.0]

"Just as you have the scarlet "P" next to your name."

Laz, I never figured you for a potentate. Learn something new every day.

[rbookward]

> ..guess we'll see just how much sway the extreme Conservatives

I'm tired of being called an extreme conservative. My stance only looks extreme because our society has shifted so far to the left. The values we hold dear have not changed.

[jmc813]

Guiliani was laughable. He lied about what the 2nd Amendment said in the hopes that most people don't know it. He claimed that the 2nd Amendment says that people have the right to bear arms. No, it doesn't. It says that Congress shall not infringe upon that right. "Reasonable restrictions" is an oxymoron when it comes to guns. The 2nd Amendment bans all restrictions. People have got to remember that the Bill of Rights is misnamed. It is the Bill of Prohibitions on Congressional Infringement. We already have every right the Constitution doesn't deny us, thanks to the 10th Amendment and other clauses.

What an awesome post. I'm only 30, but I frequently lament how uniformed young people these days are. People like you are a breath of fresh air.

Check out the Ronald Reagan quote towards the bottom of my FR profile page. Your post reminded me of it.

[Sir_Ed]

GOOD point!

Ed

[mylife]

Rudy would be fine as a NY City Senator, but NOT as POTUS!

[Sir_Ed]

You may be right...

Ed

[Politicalmom]

Honor and character are not "trivialities".

I see no reason to believe he would appoint originalist judges. He obviously interprets the second amendment to his own tastes.

He doesn't honor the law, as he wants to legalize millions of criminal aliens.

I won't vote for him, and his nomination would be the last straw forcing me to switch parties after voting Republican since I was 18.

[Politicalities]

Well thanks for letting us all know you stand on the side of the brady bunch and liberals on this issue.

I'm on the side of Truth and Reason. This means that sometimes I've got some weird lefties standing with me, sometimes I've got some weird righties standing with me, but nearly all of the time neither extreme stands with me. The "brady bunch and liberals" would surely not approve of my stance on waiting periods, trigger locks, handguns, and concealed carry.

Now, since you've declared that my position on this issue doesn't align with yours, please consider the following scenario:

"Abu al-Rashid, a 23-year-old Muslim male and an active member in a Muslim prayer group, places an order for and takes delivery of one hundred cheap Chinese fully-automatic rifles, as well as a large stockpile of ammunition, and maybe some grenades."

Should the federal government know about this activity? Should it investigate it? Should it put a stop to it? Or would to do so be an infringement of al-Rashid's right to keep and bear arms?

[Erik Latranyi]

Rudy recognizes the Second Amendment.....


BUT......

He feels it does not apply to big cities with crime problems.


I wonder what other Constitutional Rights Rudy thinks don't apply equally across the land?

[flashbunny]

"I don't even know what point you're making."

I posted part of the constitution. Don't you recognize it?


It's something which the states ratified. It made the constitution, the bill of rights, etc, the supreme law of the land. It's called the supremacy clause.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supremacy_Clause

I'll post it again because you don't seem to get it. It contradicts what you posted in the post I addressed and the most recent post you made:

-------

Article VI, Paragraph 2 of the United States Constitution is known as the Supremacy Clause:

"This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding."

The Supremacy Clause establishes the Constitution, Federal Statutes, and U.S. treaties as "the supreme law of the land." The Constitution is the highest form of law in the American legal system. State judges are required to uphold it, even if state laws or constitutions conflict with the clause.

---

The bill of rights is just that: A statement of basic human rights. It doesn't just apply to the federal government, otherwise the states could override them rendering the BOR meaningless. That is why the founding fathers put in the supremacy clause - at the time the country was formed, not just after the civil war.

You may need to go back to school to learn the content and meaning of the constitution and BOR. Until then, you may want to avoid making pronouncements on who the BOR does and doesn't cover, because you seem to have incorrect information.

[Dog Gone]

The Supreme Court also said abortion is a Constitutional right. Doesn't mean I agree with them or take their action, or lack thereof, as validation of my positions

True enough, and I'm not on this thread supporting Rudy's position when he was Mayor of NYC.

But just like Roe is currently the law, so are gun restrictions at the state and local level.

Why haven't we brought a case to the Supreme Court that squarely and solely can be decided on whether such local regulations are constitutional?

My guess is that we're afraid we might get the wrong answer.

[SJackson]

There never used to be...Back in the 'old west' days, once a felon was released from prison his guns were returned to him....Something about his 'debt being paid to society'....Now a days, once a felon, always a felon, no matter what.

Be careful about your comparisons with the "old west". That OK Corrall thing wasn't about concealed carry, but simply carry.

Personally I'm comfortable with restricting the rights of violent felons, rights they've forfeited, all felons, forever probably goes too far.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

I guess we'll see just how much sway the extreme Conservatives in the party have. I think you're going to be disappointed.

Just let the primaries play out and support your candidate, Hildy. Let 'em have their fun.

[dirtboy]

What an awesome post. I'm only 30

I'm 46 and you both are wise beyond your years.

[Hildy]

Perhaps we could put a scarlet "G" next to our name? Why bother? You already do it....

..... with every justification of left-of-center-behavior you post.

Just as you put a scarlet "P" for PERVERT next to your name....with every stupid sexually perverted post you have offered. Don't talk to me about left-of-center-behavior posts...you're the king of them.

[darkangel82]

To the insane left, anything conservative is "extreme".

[SJackson]

I will say that I think America could survive Giuliani, but not Hillary.

We'll survive either.

Is Giuliani the only one running in the Republican primaries? I must have missed that.

[dirtboy]

Why haven't we brought a case to the Supreme Court that squarely and solely can be decided on whether such local regulations are constitutional? My guess is that we're afraid we might get the wrong answer.

After Kelo, I would say any such concern is quite justified. I'm sure there is some international law against handguns that can be cited by a SCOTUS majority.

[dirtboy]

Why haven't we brought a case to the Supreme Court that squarely and solely can be decided on whether such local regulations are constitutional? My guess is that we're afraid we might get the wrong answer.

After Kelo, I would say any such concern is quite justified. I'm sure there is some international law against handguns that can be cited by a SCOTUS majority.

[Afronaut]

I don't see how a Federal Prosecutor can mix up the 2nd and 10th Amendments. We have a 2nd Amendment so that the States CAN'T interfere with the right to bear arms.

The whole pie in two sentences. Rudy know exactly what he is doing. He knows the law. He is a Trojan Horse for the left like the guy in California that just sold his Hummers.