tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797875972831999598.post2772278325897344452..comments2023-11-22T04:27:07.521-06:00Comments on glen brown: Pretending to Loosen the Grip on the Concealed Carry Law in Illinoisgbrownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13435049339082622611noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797875972831999598.post-17800856489077704712014-04-02T11:45:28.759-05:002014-04-02T11:45:28.759-05:00From an earlier post of mine (September 14, 2011):...From an earlier post of mine (September 14, 2011):<br /><br />...The 2nd amendment – established in 1791 – has been debated and re-interpreted quite often. The question disputed about gun control is whether it is a collective or individual right to own a weapon.<br /><br />According to Silveira v. Lockyer (2002), a federal appeals court in California ruled that the 2nd Amendment does not protect individuals' right to possess firearms but does protect states' rights to protect themselves. (This case was essentially a ban on assault weapons). In a subsequent court case, District of Columbia v. Heller (2007), the federal appeals court ruled that the District of Columbia law prohibiting handguns violated the individual’s right to possess firearms under the 2nd amendment. The Supreme Court granted certiorari (a writ issued by a higher court to obtain records on a case from a lower court so that the case can be reviewed), nevertheless.<br /><br />So what rights does the 2nd amendment protect? According to Supreme Court Justice Joseph Scalia, the 2nd amendment protects an individual's right to possess a firearm “unconnected with service in a militia” and to use that weapon for traditionally “lawful purposes,” such as self-defense within the home.<br /><br />I can imagine that many people believe that their right to "keep and bear arms" is a sure-fire method for impeding immediate bodily harm and robbery. However, the problem is that Weapons of "Individual" Destruction (WID) and their facile availability are also in the hands of felons and the mentally impaired (the borderline deficient, morons, imbeciles, and idiots); the substance-induced (alcoholics and drug addicts); the schizophrenic, psychotic, paranoid, delusional, depressive, anti-social, and other disturbed personalities. There's nothing you or I can do to change the depraved genetic pre-dispositions, or the unfortunate environmental influences of mentally-ill people, especially those who are armed with WIDs.<br /><br />Thus, I am going to view the 2nd amendment's declaration that “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed” as a guaranteed right of the State as well as an assured right of an individual.<br /><br />Moreover, although I agree with “gun control legislation [that mandates] prohibitions on concealed weapons and possession of firearms by felons and the mentally-deranged, and laws imposing conditions and qualifications on a [specific] commercial sale of arms…” (District of Columbia v. Heller – Case Brief Summary), gun control legislation will not deter the everyday robber or the potentially-deranged terrorist from obtaining illegal weapons, despite the government's feeble attempt to require states to automate a list of past felons and other mentally-disturbed individuals in the federal database (after the carnage at Virginia Tech). Why? It is impossible to predict who will become the next assassin.<br />gbrownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13435049339082622611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797875972831999598.post-26738447282240377482014-04-02T09:34:33.340-05:002014-04-02T09:34:33.340-05:00Sharon it is nice to see that you exhibited your F...Sharon it is nice to see that you exhibited your First Amendment right to free speech, it appears that you have some knowledge of the US Constitution. Can you guess what the Second Amendment is? In case you overlooked it, Amendment II<br /><br />A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. <br />The Second Amendment was placed to fend off the aspects of a tyrannical government. You should probably understand a little about firearms before spouting off. First, automatic weapons, those that continue to fire when you pull the trigger are illegal in the US unless you have a special license granted by the BATFE. Now of course we all know that criminals follow the law and do not have these such weapons because they are illegal. It is not the wayward government I worry about as much as I do about the maniacs out there when the governmnet crashes. If an individual broke into your house to steal your food or sexually assault you or your child, how long do you think it would be before the police arrived. Minutes to several minutes. An assailant can kill or conduct bodily harm in seconds. So, do not infringe on my Rights given to me, so I can protect myself and family from the "bad guys". BTW, I am a retired public servant in LE and FD.<br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13773618324505917180noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797875972831999598.post-87546368940591284232014-04-02T09:08:08.842-05:002014-04-02T09:08:08.842-05:00In my humble opinion, our country has gone over th...In my humble opinion, our country has gone over the deep end. We did just fine--in fact much better--without weapons. The argument that we have a right to defend ourselves against a wayward government is ridiculous--insane. All the guns and automatic weapons in the world would not stop a government, our government, from putting down a revolution if they chose to. I know the argument that the "bad guys" get guns on the black market so we need to be able to defend ourselves, but the thought of having a concealed carry on my person, in every person's coat pocket just shows how low we[ve gone. You can tie it all up to right-wing insanity, a do-nothing Democratic party who cares as much about profits as the so-called Republicans, an dumbed-down education system that these same people are destroying as well as our environment, colleges, tuitions and loans made unaffordable, the determination to end all social programs, --absolutely everything. Only, we, the people can get involved and push back against our politicians. No one will do it for us.Sharon Sandershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15475912276638292718noreply@blogger.com