Replies

Uh, Jeff, no. The Supreme Court has incorporated the 1st Amendment as applying to the states. It is a right "fundamental to a well-ordered liberty." States can't infringe upon it.

The 2nd Amendment, however, is an entirely different story. Just for fun, I looked up the CA constitution: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/.const/.article_1

No provision for the right to bear arms.

By the way, Jeff--check out Barron v. Baltimore. Maryland seized private property without compensating the owner. The Supreme Court upheld it, saying the Constitution didn't apply to the states. That case has since been overruled, as that provision of the Bill of Rights now applies, but not for the 2nd Amendment.

Read my post 21 again ... very carefully.

The King felt he had the power to make such decisions as well. He found he was wrong when attempted against a well armed citizenry.

If these fools continue to press such issues, they will find out the same thing.

Sorry, but that is about as cut to the chase as I can make it. I don't desire it, I do all I can to avoid it ... but if they continue to push, that's where it leads.

Article 6, Para 2. "supreme Law of the Land".

Now read the 10th, followed by Sect 2 of the 14th.

These are listed as basic Rights that the Federal government, and all member States, cannot infringe upon. The USSC would destroy Federal Government as it currently exits if they should ever rule the way they should be. The plain language of the Constitution is pretty unambiguous, and quite a bit of pre-New Deal rulings back that up.

Think about it. If government didn't work to increase its workload, lawyer, judges, and most of the federal apperatus would go out of business. Millions out on the streets with no job. Not nearly as much for Congress to do.

To those in power, this would be a dissaster.

I am of the old school "original intent" belief that the U.S. Constitution applies to the federal government, and to the states only in those instances where the states are mentioned. IMHO, no one, not even the Supreme Court, has the right to re-interpret the Constitution in order to apply the Bill of Rights to the states. If anti-gun laws in California are deemed by the public to be wrong, the battle should be fought in California, not at the federal level.

On the other hand, I am also of the opinion that state governments can and should be limited to what the state constitution says. If the state constitution does not specifically allow the government of California to regulate firearms, then the government of California has no authority to infringe upon that individual right. That would be in keeping with the idea behind a constitutional form of government in all 50 free and independent states.

Let it be known that I am more pro-gun than most NRA members. I believe citizens should be able to carry any kind of gun they want anywhere they want. In fact, I would go so far as to say that I hold the federal government partly responsible for the 9/11 attacks because it was federal regulations that barred pilots and passengers from being able to protect themselves on board those hijacked planes. I despise the NRA leadership for ever caving in to public pressure by saying things like, "Okay, this is a gun law we can live with." Virtually every single federal gun law is unconstitutional on its face.

As a firm believer in the right of states to govern themselves, I think it should be up to the people of a particular state--voicing their positions through their elected representatives in the legislature--to decide whether or not they want gun control. If anyone in California would like to protest a gun-control law, they could appeal to Article I, Sec. 1 of the state constitution, which states, "All people are by nature free and independent and have inalienable rights. Among these are enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety, happiness, and privacy." It would seem that laws infringing on gun ownership would violate the "defending life and liberty" clause.