Ron Paul Blogs

It is truly a happy day. The US Supreme Court has found in a 5 – 4 decision that the Washington DC Gun Ban that has been in effect since 1976 is unconstitutional. This has surprised me as I felt the tide of the legality of the second Amendment being challenged more than it has in about 20 years.

The last time that there seemed to be a rising tide of opposition to guns was around the time of the Brady Bill. There still is an organization called the Brady Campaign. They use the memory of a shot federal employee (His picture is actually on every page of the website) to push anti gun laws and odd technologies that any criminal can get past in about 10 minutes. Can you imagine the founding fathers requiring a citizen engraving his name on every lead bullet?

Many politicians and pundits have already stated an opinion on the Court’s ruling.

John McCain – “Today’s ruling in District of Columbia v. Heller makes clear that other municipalities like Chicago that have banned handguns have infringed on the constitutional rights of Americans,” he says. “Unlike the elitist view that believes Americans cling to guns out of bitterness, today’s ruling recognizes that gun ownership is a fundamental right — sacred, just as the right to free speech and assembly.”

Barack Obama (who previously stated that rural people cling to guns and religion) – says the decision is in line with his interpretation of the Second Amendment. “Today’s decision reinforces that if we act responsibly, we can both protect the constitutional right to bear arms and keep our communities and our children safe,”

Personally I believed that the court was going to decide that it was constitutional for cities, that happen to be largely urban, be allowed to limit the 2^nd Amendment, in the interest of low crime. DC has had this ban for 30 years and it was unconstitutional the whole time. Until the Heller Case this law was unchecked.

Many have feared that if guns were outlawed in several urban cities, this was a test of the people’s resolve to protect this Amendment, and may have actually led to an outright outlaw of Gun Ownership in the United States. Recently there is a proposed bill to reinstate the “Assault Weapons Ban” with a more aggressive stance than in its previous form. It was shown to have little effect, as the crime rate stayed low and actually lowered after the Bill expired in 2004. According to the DOJ only about 2% of crimes involve a firearm perceived by these bills as an “Assault Weapon”

Other cities have copied or were planning to copy this unconstitutional method of law enforcement. New York, Chicago, and all of California had restrictions on gun ownership. Other communities were considering taking such action such as Philadelphia.

The NRA has made a press release on the DC vs. Heller case:

Supreme Court Declares That the Second Amendment Guarantees an Individual Right to Keep and Bear Arms

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Fairfax, VA – Leaders of the National Rifle Association (NRA) praised the Supreme Court’s historic ruling overturning Washington, D.C.’s ban on handguns and on self-defense in the home, in the case of District of Columbia v. Heller.

“This is a great moment in American history. It vindicates individual Americans all over this country who have always known that this is their freedom worth protecting,” declared NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre. “Our founding fathers wrote and intended the Second Amendment to be an individual right. The Supreme Court has now acknowledged it. The Second Amendment as an individual right now becomes a real permanent part of American Constitutional law.”

Last year, the District of Columbia appealed a Court of Appeals ruling affirming that the Second Amendment to the Constitution guarantees an individual right to keep and bear arms, and that the District’s bans on handguns, carrying firearms within the home and possession of functional firearms for self-defense violate that fundamental right.

“Anti-gun politicians can no longer deny that the Second Amendment guarantees a fundamental right,” said NRA chief lobbyist Chris W. Cox. “All law-abiding Americans have a fundamental, God-given right to defend themselves in their homes. Washington, D.C. must now respect that right.”

-NRA-

I am surprised. I am happy. Maybe this newfound interest in the Constitution and it’s Bill of Rights will expand past the Second Amendment. Several of the other Amendments have been taking a beating lately.

First Amendment Freedom of Speech – Free Speech zones, the arrest of journalists in America and US controlled areas, demanding people leave areas where they speak. Police taking film or memory cards…

Fourth Amendment – Protection from unreasonable search and seizure. – Stop and Talk interrogations, roadblock searches without Probable Cause….

Fifth Amendment – due process, double jeopardy, self-incrimination, eminent domain. Speedy trials, arresting or harming people that refuse to talk, escalation of charges for people pursuing their rights, NAFTA highway seizing land without hearings.

Sixth Amendment – Trial by jury and rights of the accused; Confrontation Clause, speedy trial, public trial, right to counsel – Guantanamo? Rendition flights? No Lawyers, no trials, ever traveled to Gitmo to see a trial on your day off? Ever visit with a prisoner to get his side of the story? Do you think the media does that?

Eighth Amendment – Prohibition of excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishment. – Gitmo Again, Torture, Unsafe prisons, Solitary confinement, Forced work for 20 cents an hour….

Tenth Amendment – Powers of states and people. -The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people. – This was seems to have been just reversed. Anything that is not spelled out as a state or personal right is Demanded by the Federal Government. The Fed is telling all states how to police, tax, legislate even though they have not balanced a budget in years or were even able to prevent terrorist attacks.

Lets spread the message of this ruling to all 50 states and then go on to protect the other Amendments.

Do you agree with the Court’s decision?