Free Republic

The six Republican justices handed down a decision on Friday that effectively legalizes civilian ownership of automatic weapons. All three of the Court’s Democrats dissented. The Court’s decision in Garland v. Cargill involves bump stocks, devices that allow ordinary semiautomatic weapons that can legally be owned by civilians to automatically fire, much like a machine gun designed for that purpose. Bump stocks cause a semiautomatic gun’s trigger to buck against the shooter’s finger, repeatedly “bumping” the trigger and making the gun rapidly fire. A semiautomatic weapon refers to a gun that loads a bullet into the chamber or otherwise prepares...

There is a constant stream of books and articles telling us, often strenuously and at great length, that the American Founders got the ideas they used for the Founding from the British philosopher John Locke. The Founders would be puzzled by this ongoing effort. They knew different. Locke's Two Treatises of Government appeared in 1690. The articles by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay that became The Federalist began appearing in American newspapers in 1787. Quite a lot had happened during that intervening century. The greatest development of all during that time was the onset of the American Enlightenment, that explosion of...

When Thomas Jefferson crafted the Declaration of Independence, he pointed to “certain unalienable rights” with which we were endowed by our “Creator.” What did he mean when he wrote the phrase “unalienable rights,” and what rights are “unalienable”? Jefferson understood “unalienable rights” as fixed rights given to us by our Creator rather than by government. The emphasis on our Creator is crucial, because it shows that the rights are permanent just as the Creator is permanent. Jefferson’s thought on the source of these rights was impacted by Oxford’s William Blackstone, who described “unalienable rights” as “absolute” rights–showing that they were...

I wish to undertake a critical analysis of the incomplete works of attorneys Orly Taitz, Phil Berg, and Mario Apuzzo, concerning the meaning and definition of "natural born Citizen" within the political context and intent of Article II. It is my contention that none of the attorneys working on exposing the illegal usurper known as Barack Obama have described any valid theory of law that properly explains why Obama cannot possibly qualify to be President under Article II. I will show what I believe are their mistakes and limitations and expose their incomplete efforts as failed hypotheses rather than valid...

During the past two months, I've read several articles about Obama omitting the phrase "by their Creator" when quoting from the Declaration of Independence. Most of these articles have pointed out three examples. I've found a few more which I'll quote from below. Note: that Obama likes to use "inalienable" instead of "unalienable" (see bottom of this post)

Just seven days after he sparked controversy by omitting the word “Creator” when he closely paraphrased the passage from the Declaration of Independence that says all men “are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights,” President Barack Obama again omitted the Creator when speaking about the “inalienable rights” that “everybody is endowed with.”This time the president was speaking at a Sept. 22 fundraiser for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City, and his reference to “inalienable rights” was not as close a paraphrasing of the...

SAN FRANCISCO -- Conservative activists backing a ballot initiative that would repeal four environmental laws in California -- including the state's climate change measure -- were authorized to start gathering signatures yesterday by California Secretary of State Debra Bowen. Bowen announced that Oscar Braun, a private citizen from Half Moon Bay, Calif., could begin collecting the 694,354 signatures he needs to place his constitutional amendment on the November ballot. Braun has until late June to qualify those signatures if his effort is to make the fall election. The ballot measure is as ambitious as it is incendiary. It would repeal...

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. Aside from contending that a bill of rights was unnecessary, the Federalists responded to those opposing ratification of the Constitution because of the lack of a declaration of fundamental rights by arguing that inasmuch as it would be impossible to list all rights it would be dangerous to list some because there would be those who would seize on the absence of the omitted rights to assert that government was unrestrained as to those.

A three-judge panel of the California Court of Appeal has determined parents in that state have no legal right to home school. A Christian attorney in Sacramento says unless the ruling is reversed, literally thousands of students in the Golden State will be subject to criminal sanctions. (click here for special webcast starting at 2 p.m. CST) California Justice H. Walter Croskey has stated in an opinion that "parents who fail to [comply with school enrollment laws] may be subject to a criminal complaint against them, found guilty of an infraction, and subject to imposition of fines or an order...

How do you feel about allowing loaded guns in our national parks? Do you feel the need to pack heat while wandering the wildflower meadows of Paradise on Mount Rainier? Are you determined to protect yourself against overly aggressive squirrels at Hurricane Ridge? As you may have heard, Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne has agreed to modify existing rules that prohibit people from carrying loaded weapons in the national parks. The new rules will be ready for public comment by the end of April [289K PDF]. The push comes from the U.S. Senate. Fifty senators added their signatures to...

CNSNews.com) - An Ohio newspaper's decision to publish the non-public records of concealed carry permit holders drew a strong response, and one gun rights advocacy group published personal but public information about the newspaper's editor. The Sandusky Register on June 24 published the names, ages and home counties of the almost 2,700 concealed carry permit holders in its circulation area. Ohio gun laws restrict public access to concealed carry records but allow the media to access them. The printing of the names sparked outrage from gun rights groups, including the Ohioans for Concealed Carry and the National Rifle Association. Critics...

(2007-7-1) MSP has quietly notified dealers around the state that new restrictions on purchase of regulated firearms (handguns and select long guns) will take effect on August 1. Starting that date, any application to purchase such firearms will be administratively denied if it does not contain a release authorizing police to access medical records which may be on file at any state agency – or at any agency anywhere – in order to decide if the applicant is eligible to possess a gun. MSP will now assess your mental health when it decides whether to approve your purchase. Federal and...

From the website: Gun Facts is a free e-book that debunks common myths about gun control. It is intended as a reference guide for journalists, activists, politicians, and other people interested in restoring honesty to the debate about guns, crime, and the 2nd Amendment. Gun Facts has 89 pages of information. Divided into chapters based on gun control topics (assault weapons, ballistic finger printing, firearm availability, etc.), finding information is quick and easy. Each chapter lists common gun control myths, then lists a number of documented and cited facts that directly dispute the gun control claim. Thus when a neighbor,...

WASHINGTON, July 29 - The Senate agreed to shield gun manufacturers and dealers from liability lawsuits on Friday, as Congress broke for a monthlong recess after sending President Bush energy and transportation bills that had been years in the making. Long sought by the gun lobby, the Senate measure - approved 65 to 31 - would prohibit lawsuits against gun makers and distributors for misuse of their products during the commission of a crime. Senate supporters said the plan was needed to protect the domestic firearms industry from a rash of lawsuits that threatened its economic future. "This bill is...

This week, the Bill of Rights becomes 213 years old. These 461 words were intended to be the backbone for defense of what the Founding Fathers called our "unalienable" rights. And so they were, with only few exceptions, for over 140 years. Starting with the blatant and unconstitutional socialism of the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration, Washington has steadily eroded our rights. So, today, many of these so called "unalienable" rights are but privileges allowed or refused at the whim of a capricious central government, and some have been all but completely usurped by Washington. Yet, these Amendments are still part...

Did I hear Kerry mention Constitutional "rights we afford the people" in Wednesday's debate? Yeah, I did. How stupid! But, that's what happens when you let a lawyer talk. Our "rights" are said (by Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, George Washington, and a couple dozen other Founding Fathers) to be "unalienable," natural rights, God given, and to be protected -- not violated -- by government. That's what separates us from other countries. Some people in our government still believe a little of that. Government was formed to "secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity." It says...

We've all heard about "taking the Fifth." Heck, we only need watch the bureaucrats testifying about their wrongdoings for instructions on how that works. They'll use their Fifth Amendment right, and any trick they can think of, to keep from telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Well, "taking the Fifth" is not just reserved for those in government. Citizens also (usually) have a right against self incrimination. In fact, American citizens can use a whole host of such "protections," if they learn to exert their Constitutional authority. For instance, the Ninth Amendment states that: "The...

“What are they teaching our kids these days?” http://www.webnexus.com/users/svfsc/mhusd.html The Morgan Hill Unified School District is now teaching our children the following: “The 2nd Amendment right to keep and bear arms does NOT include the right to keep and bear handguns.” "There is no place in our society for handguns." “All small firearms should be banned by law.” These are quotes from an English class assignment at Britton Middle School in Morgan Hill. They are part of the standard curriculum in use by several teachers at the school for years. A copy of the actual course material is shown below....