Guns in America

[NajdorfDefense]

from the previous thread:
A U.S. appeals court struck down a three-decade-old District of Columbia law that bans residents from keeping a handgun in their homes, saying the Constitution's Second Amendment protects an individual right to bear arms.
...``There are too many instances of `bear arms' indicating private use to conclude that the drafters intended only a military sense,' Senior Judge Laurence Silberman wrote for himself and Judge Thomas Griffith. '

The N.O.-based 5th Circuit agreed previously that the 2nd Amendment applied to individuals.

The US SC hasn't ruled directly on a 2nd Amend case in 70+ years.

[jerG123]

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I hope more Americans get guns. An armed population is the last defense agains tyrany.

By the way, that is a good 'blog' entry on the subject.

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WTF are you guys waiting for then? You've had a tyrant running your country for what, 8 years?

[iron81]

First off, you're citing Cruikshank out of context. That passage had nothing to do with any natural rights. Its meaning was limited to its plain meaning: the Constitution does not protect the right "of bearing arms for a lawful purpose". Indeed, Cruikshank specifically upholds the right of the government to restrict or prohibit the formation of private militias, which refutes one of your claims in your first post. There is no natural right to bear arms that has been recognized by this country's courts.

Your claims that the "militia" represents everyone is antiquated. Besides my earlier posts concerning the existing case law, a true citizen army is obsolete. There is no frontier to defend and no threat of foreign invasion. The Court's view that the modern militia is the National Guard is supported by the reality of modern warfare.

Also, you cite the DC decision, but that was news precisely because it overturned settled law as I discussed earlier. It is wrong to cite that decision as law because it goes against a vast body of case law.

[renodoc]

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There is no natural right to bear arms that has been recognized by this country's courts.


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Natural rights>>>>> courts

Just because the court doesn't recognize it, doesn't mean it isnt there or true.

[renodoc]

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Your claims that the "militia" represents everyone is antiquated.

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Would you think it is antiquated perhaps in the same way that private property is in eminent domain issues? Or perhaps antiquated the way free speech is prior to a campaign?

Perhaps it is antiquated like Scott or Plessy?

[Jamougha]

How can there be a natural right to something that doesn't exist in nature?

[renodoc]

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How can there be a natural right to something that doesn't exist in nature?

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Just about every living thing defends itself.

[Jamougha]

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How can there be a natural right to something that doesn't exist in nature?

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Just about every living thing defends itself.

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Irrelevant, you're discussing the right to bear arms, not to defend oneself. Besides which, since when does an is imply an ought?

[renodoc]

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How can there be a natural right to something that doesn't exist in nature?

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Just about every living thing defends itself.

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Irrelevant, you're discussing the right to bear arms, not to defend oneself. Besides which, since when does an is imply an ought?

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First, that is really dense.

Second, I don't understand your Clintonspeak.

[earck]

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To me, these are just startling numbers. I've always felt a little uneasy about how easy it is to attain firearms in the U.S. and all "guns don't kill people, people kill people" arguments aside i truly believe most people aren't responsible enough to own one.

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I generally feel that an armed populace is the best deterrent to crime. Who is gonna rob a store when there could be a shotgun behind the counter, who is gonna rape a woman if she could have pistol in her purse.

As for the peopl ewho misuse their 'right' and commit crimes with firearms or generally acts like a jackass while firing them with no regard for the safety of others I think that the best way to handle it is to increase the penalties for these incidents. If you commit a violent crime with a gun an extra 20-30 years should be added to you're sentence on top of whatever you get for the crime.