101st Airborne Little Rock Arkansas
Posted on 08/09/2008 7:51:23 PM PDT by neverdem
The Supreme Court ruled in June that provisions of Washington, D.C.'s gun laws are unconstitutional. Unfortunately, the city has responded with new regulations that are a flagrant attempt to circumvent the court's decision.
It's time for Congress to use the power granted to it in the Constitution to "exercise exclusive legislation" in the District and uphold its residents' constitutional rights. It can do so by passing the District of Columbia Personal Protection Act now pending in Congress, with a few adjustments. This bill, introduced on July 31 with 57 cosponsors, would prevent D.C. from passing regulations that discourage the private lawful use of firearms or otherwise suppress residents' Second Amendment rights. It is the result of a compromise between the National Rifle Association and House leaders.
To ensure broad-based, bipartisan support, we propose four modest congressional actions that would preserve some home-rule authority while erecting a commonsense framework for restoring the right to self-defense in our nation's capital.
First, Congress should change how D.C. processes gun registrations. Currently, residents must complete an application form, submit photographs, prove residency and good vision, pass a written test, pay a fee, be fingerprinted, and have the gun ballistics tested. The entire process can take months.
Congress should mandate a more streamlined process for D.C. based on the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, which is already required by federal law for all retail firearm sales. Background checks are usually completed within a few hours.
Second, D.C. still bans all "machine guns," improperly defined as any gun capable of firing 12 or more rounds without reloading -- even if the gun owner has a magazine with fewer rounds. As a result, only revolvers or single-shot handguns can be registered. But semiautomatic handguns constitute about three-quarters of handguns sold in the U.S. Banning them violates...
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
The Republican controlled Congress can pass this act in a flash, good thing they were smart enough to keep the people’s trust.
What about civil disobediance? What if 10,000 people bought handguns in DC and openy refused to comply with their unlawful regulations? You think that might clog up their court system?
No, they’ll just invite the NYPD and CAPD to help them out.
Like NOLA did for Katrina. NYPD and CA Highway Patrol.
A better question is how are SCOTUS decisions enforced? Had this ruling been about abortion, afirmative action, desegegation or any other feel-good issue, the gov’t stormtroopers would have come down on DC like the plague.
Civil disobedience only works if you are dealing with an Authority that has a conscience and is not willing to murder large numbers of people. You also have to have a sympathetic media on your side. The MSM would applaud DC coming down hard on “Gun Nut Protesters” to prevent “Anarchy”.
Civil disobedience never worked in Saddam's Iraq, and I doubt if it would work in DC.
Civil disobedience works if everyone is armed with a weapon that can kill a cop.
10,000 handgunners. You think DC cops would get mixed up in THAT?
That would be the same Congress "lead" by Ms Pelosi and Mr Reid, I believe.
DC gun ping
Can D.C. residents even buy guns? Are there any legal dealers in D.C.? Can D.C. residents legally buy guns outside of D.C. and legally bring them in?
101st Airborne Little Rock Arkansas
Not enough people in that district that want to be the “test cases”...
Remember, it was only 6 people who originally petitioned their grievances, and eventually combined (teamed up) and named Heller as the prime litigant to address the Supreme Court...
As for what needs to be done...Well...Its going to be hard to find someone(s) to get the Supreme Court (no matter what the make-up is) to arrest, indict, and prosecute anyone in the D.C. local government for failing to abide by a court ruling...
This was what was going to happen anyway...I do not understand why a lot of people are surprised by this...
The last time I heard that a group of people got together and had a civil disobediant gatheringh in D.C.
A lot of people were hurt...The government brought the army in and rolled on them...The very people that want to take away a very basic, moral and empowering right we have, will pull the hypocritical trigger back at us in a heartbeat...
So the question you need to ask yourself is this...What are you prepared to do, and what are you prepared to sacrifice in righting this wrong???
Sure we can storm the Bastille if we need to, but how clever it would be to flush the entire group R and D, and put people in place who understand the founding principles this country is better off not trying to screw up...
BTW, I am not a Paul-Bot in anyway , shape or form...I am a Conservative first, Republican second...An American by birth, Texan by the grace of God! ;-)
Go back and read “Unintended Consequences”...You’ll see what I’m talking about...
I agree, see my post #13...
We will lose any rights that we don’t have the courage to fight for.
Not many folks remember The Bonus Army March anymore.
Nice to see somebody bring it up....
L
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Civil disobedience worked in our early republic, and it would work in DC. -- The key is using civil, constitutional means to disobey, -- only a few dozen DC vets refusing to comply with 'laws' that prohibit their service handguns could turn the trick.
“It’s time for Congress to use the power granted to it in the Constitution to “exercise exclusive legislation” in the District and uphold its residents’ constitutional rights.”
Unfortunately, this mistakenly assumes that congress has a collective backbone and a set of b*lls; or that congress has the best interests of the people at heart, rather than an endless series of turf battles and efforts to protect and extend perks and benefits and enlarge salaries.
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