Category Archives: Second Amendment

Repeal 2nd Amendment

Because of the Supreme Court's misinterpretation of the Second Amendment to the Constitution, we, the citizens of the U.S., are saddled with a law that opens the door and welcomes violence, deadly violence. The Second Amendment does not say any citizen may personally bear arms, but that a citizen acting as part of a militia may bear arms.

But we no longer have militias because they're not needed.

Instead, we have an Army, a Navy, the Marines, an Air Force, the Coast Guard, and Border Patrol, which are more effective than antiquated militias. So how do we get rid of a legal excuse for violence? It starts with Congress with an amendment to repeal the Second Amendment. The problem is that our elected representatives are in the pocket of the gun industry.

To pry them out of that pocket, a concerted citizen effort is needed. Maybe, a Mothers Against Firearms (MAFA), like MADD, could start the ball rolling. And, add a FAFA (Fathers Against Firearms) to the mix. But do fathers really care about the safety of their sons and daughters, or are they also in the pocket of the gun industry?

Gun manufacturers, gun sellers, gun owners, criminals, and the NRA will pull all their tricks out of the hat to stop a repeal process. They will say without guns, your security is at risk. But the mere presence of millions of guns in our society already presents a grave threat. They will also say respectable sportsmen wouldn't be able to hunt. Well,

Are mothers, fathers, aunts, and uncles willing to take on the gun industry? Don't let the Supreme Court's decision hobble your better judgment. Prod your congressional representatives into action - then prod your state representatives to vote sanity.

STAN KARP

Las Cruces

Elliptical deviance

Go here to see the original:
Your View: Letters to the editor (Aug. 26)

Lousy shooting by Union troops in the Civil War led to the creation of Americas premier group defending the Second Amendment.

Back in 1871, the National Rifle Association was formed by Gen. George Wingate and Col. William Church, as a means of enhancing marksmanship with the long-barrel weapons.

Today, the NRA is a multi-million-dollar organization, and no state boasts more ardent members than West Virginia, with some 32,000 strong, says Terry Kourey, chairman of the Southern West Virginia Friends of NRA.

It goes back to West Virginia traditionally being a hunting area, he said.

Over the years, and generations, people have owned guns and support trying to preserve the Second Amendment and continuing with the generations to come, we hope.

Come Sept. 13, the Friends of NRA plans to hold its annual dinner, with the doors opening at 6 p.m. at the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center.

A single ticket runs $40, while the charge is $70 per couple, and $500 for a table of eight.

As a 501-c-3 entity, the Friends of NRA raises tax deductible funds to support shooting sports and benefit charities, while defending the 2nd Amendment.

We began in 1990 and since then have had 14,000 such events, Kourey said.

Weve awarded $180 million in grants to different organizations. Some are for youth firearms safety and education programs, hunter education, range development and improvement, and wildlife conservation efforts.

Excerpt from:
Friends of National Rifle Association set annual dinner

TRUCKEE, Calif. 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. U.S. Constitution, Second Amendment.

Clearly the Second Amendment allows each of us to own a machine gun; that's part of our right to keep and bear Arms. Right? We need to protect ourselves and a machine gun is perfect. Can't we each be our own Militia?

Homemade Machine gun

On Oct. 30, 2009, the Anchorage Police Department dispatched officers to Matthew Wayne Henry's home after receiving reports of gunfire. They found shell casings everywhere. A search warrant turned up a loaded .308-caliber assault rifle under Henry's bed. Henry was charged with discharging firearms while intoxicated. The case was later dismissed as the State declined to prosecute. Shooting guns while intoxicated must be standard fare in Anchorage.

Anonymous Tip

After Henry was released, the Anchorage police received an anonymous tip that he had converted the .308 rifle into a machine gun, which they had not noticed. They went back with another search warrant and discovered under the bed 20 guns, gun parts and machine gun conversion instructions to convert semiautomatics to full automatics. How'd they miss that cache the first time?

Henry was charged with all sorts of weapons violations which he defended claiming, (a) he had a right to keep a machine gun pursuant to the Second Amendment and (b) laws against machine guns are not authorized under the Commerce Clause the same Clause that came into play in the U.S. Supreme Court's recent health care decision.

Guilty/Appeal

A jury found Henry guilty of knowingly and unlawfully possessing a machine gun. He was sentenced to twenty-four months in prison and forfeited his machine gun. Henry appealed. He didn't mind the time in prison but didn't want to lose his precious gun.

Second Amendment/Machine guns

Read the rest here:
Jim Porter: Everyone is entitled to keep a machine gun under the bed

I had to respond to the Aug. 1 letter Modest Restrictions Dont Weaken Second Amendment.

The Second Amendment does notsaya well regulated state Militia; it says a well regulated Militia, which would be made up of average, everydaycitizens. The National Guard and the Coast Guard are both controlled by the government.

One only has to read what our Founding Fathers have to say about the Second Amendment to understand its intent. To quote Thomas Jefferson, The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government. Based on the intent of the Second Amendment, any restriction on gun ownership is a violation of our constitutional rights. We should have the right to own any gun or weapon available.

Duane Hartgrove Columbia

Common Sense Needed in Gun Debate

Recently, The State newspaper printed a collection of pro-gun/pro-NRA-leaning letters to the editor. These letters condemned those who didnt agree with them, implying that those who disagree are crazy, stupid, ignorant, misinformed and/or dangerous. One writer even promoted the ownership and personal use of AK-47s.

There are many variations among those who believe that enforcing the existing gun laws is just not enough (though this enforcement is sincerely needed). Personally, I wonder why anyone needs to own semi-automatic weapons, automatic weapons or high-volume clips.These weapons and ammunition clips are intended for use by law enforcement and the military; their only hunting use is to kill multiple beings as quickly as possible. They are destructive and impossible to use for hunting.

My view is that there is nothing wrong with people owning long guns for hunting; handguns for personal safety; and non-multiple shot clips, provided that these owners take the necessary safety precautions. Along with gun ownership comes the requirement to safely secure the weapons and ammunition from those who are too young or not trained to understand the proper handling and use of these weapons.

Not all gun situations would be prevented or minimized by the addition of more people having more guns. In cases where homeowners with guns confront perpetrators, perpetrators often prevail because they have more training, are more adept or are quicker and calmer during the altercation than the gun owner.

Those victims who are surprised by a perpetrator cant react quickly enough to provide their own defense. For example, the recent Colorado massacre might have been made more severe by introducing more flying bullets into a dark, chaotic situation. Perhaps a trained person with a gun who had a clear, close and undetected position might have lowered the intensity and length of the incident, but even this person could not have prevented it.

More here:
All Guns Should Be Legal

The Second Amendment and the NRA have been under attack since the theater shooting in Colorado.

The tragedy was nothing but horrible. To think another human could open fire, fatally shooting 12 and wounding 58 others, is impossible to comprehend.

As outdoorsmen, we must remember that anytime something as horrific as this happens, it will effect our sport. Whether you are a hunter, sporting clay shooter or a competition shooter, those who are anti-gun revive their campaign to restrict or abolish our rights. There are those in government and the private sector who think they can protect you by disarming you. Today, there's an outcry to ban assault weapons.

So just what is an assault weapon?

An assault weapon is a military look-a-like. An AR-15 is a so called assault weapon. Just as is a AK-47, civilian kind is a semi automatic. The AR-15 looks like an M16, which is full auto. Politicians like to demonize the look-a likes as assault weapons used on the battlefield but military weapons are full auto. They also can have large capacity magazines.

Politicians have said these weapons need to be on the battlefield, not our streets. You might or might not agree with this, but the Second Amendment guarantees our right to keep and bear arms. It does not state what guns can or cannot be possessed.

A coworker asked me why anyone could need an AR-15? An AR-15 is used in competition shooting, like at Camp Perry in Port Clinton. Yes, it can be used for varmint hunting, too.

The point is my coworker is a deer hunter and only sees what he uses in his sport. Some clay target shooters have the same viewpoint -- nobody is going to take my shotgun.

Ask the people of Great Britain and Australia what they will take. The answer is just about everything. The governments banned private ownership of all firearms in Great Britain and a very limited, if you can prove you need one, in Australia.

Another argument by politicians is no one needs to have as much ammunition as the Colorado shooter had. How can they decide what is too much, 50 rounds, 100 rounds? Let us be reasonable. How about prosecuting the criminals to the fullest degree, instead of those of us who are responsible gun owners?

Read this article:
What is an assault weapon?

About 40 young people waved signs and voiced loud support for Second Amendment rights in the front of D.C. city hall on Friday, an unusual sight in a heavily Democratic city that is known for its strict gun-control laws.

For about two hours, they captured the attention of passing motorists and tourists with their argument that increased gun ownership equals increased public safety.

Their rally comes two days after an unarmed building manager was shot in the arm at the Family Research Council, a conservative organization in the Districts busy downtown. Mayor Vincent C. Gray has pledged to preserve the citys strict gun laws after the incident renewed debate about firearm safety in the city.

Protests are a frequent occurrence in front of the John A. Wilson Building, which houses the offices of Mr. Gray and D.C. Council members. Yet pro-gun rallies are unusual and the sight of young protesters touting traditional conservative views at city hall made it stand out.

Hey, hey! Mayor Gray! We want concealed carry, the protesters chanted.

The group was consistently loud and lively, riffing off popular songs by Twisted Sister and the Beastie Boys You gotta fight. For your right. To caaaaarrrry! to get their message across.

I really do believe we should be allowed to have our Second Amendment rights, protester Amanda Haas, 21, said.

Ms. Haas said she is a single girl whos living in the city and should have the right to protect herself with a firearm if, for instance, she is accosted while walking at night from the Metro to her home near Eastern Market.

While some were D.C. residents, many of the protesters told The Washington Times they lived across the river in Virginia.

Organizer Mike Armstrong, 25, of Arlington, said almost all of the protesters lived in the D.C. metro region. He said many of them know each other and were able to organize the rally over the Internet.

Follow this link:
Young people protest for gun rights in front of D.C. city hall

You may not know this, but the Second Amendment says you have a right to own an AR-15 assault rifle with a 100-round barrel.

And an RPG.

And a tank.

And a stealth bomber.

And a 50-megaton atomic bomb.

Oh, and most important of all, a wand from Ollivander's wand shop in Diagon Alley, preferably one that won't backfire when you cast the Cruciatus Curse.

Don't try to argue with me. I've read the Second Amendment, and it says that the right of the people to bear arms should not be infringed ever.

More importantly, I know what the Founders' intentions were: They knew that an armed populace would keep the government's inevitable slide into tyranny at bay. After all, nothing keeps the powers that be in check like the fear of an armed uprising. Well, except for the fact that some dude wants to marry some other dude and spend the rest of his life making eye babies with his hubby. That shit really freaks them the fuck out.

Unfortunately, any armed uprising today would be squashed in a matter of days. Why? We're outgunned. Which is why you, me, and everyone we know should be able to have access to the same firepower as Uncle Sam. After all, that's what James Madison and the gang intended. And that means atomic fucking bombs, lots of them, with conceal and carry permits for every man, woman, and child. That'll teach the federal to keep their goddamn hands off our Medicare.

Sadly, that's not the world we live in. Evidently, the liberal scum in Washington wants to take away the few peashooters we're allowed to have today. And they'll go to great lengths to make sure that even those pop guns are banned. And lately they've been particularly hard at work. Or so says Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine.

Read the original here:
Megadeth's Mustaine is right, we are outgunned

Two weeks ago, David Kolb wrote about his concerns about the Second Amendment and violence in the U.S. That column drew nearly 300 responses.

This week Kolb responded to some of the more outlandish comments in his column, "Commie guns, brunch in Paris and Hoppe's No. 9, Kolb responds to readers." Kolb wrote:

That so many readers took the time and trouble to carefully frame their arguments, painstakingly choosing each nuanced word in order to to engage each other and myself in civilized, intelligent debate, has given me new hope for the future of our great nation.

Here's what MLive Muskegon Chronicle readers had to say.

buckaroo2 thinks a return to teaching values would end gun violence:

Just as we have "doom and gloom" Democrats saying the world is going to end because of pickup trucks and SUVs, we have "doom and gloom" Republicans who think everyone is trying to take guns away. Its all political posturing. The environment and firearms are a very old and tired debate. Lets find something new to argue about.

More:
David Kolb responds to Second Amendment commenters

Candidates for the newly-redistricted 45th State Assembly District gathered at the Beloit Public Library Wednesday night to discuss topics that ranged from balancing the state budget to second amendment rights.

The debate was sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Beloit and the Rock County Youth2Youth program. Randall Upton, president of the Greater Beloit Chamber of Commerce, served as moderator.

The race features two Democratic candidates and two Republican candidates looking to grab the nominations for Novembers general election. The primary election is set for Tuesday.

The Republicans in the race are two Orfordville Village Board members, Russell Rucker and Beth Schmidt, and the two Democrats are Beloit City Council member Sheila DeForest and state Rep. Janis Ringhand, D-Evansville.

The first question dealt with balancing the state budget. Upton asked the candidates whether or not they supported increasing the tax on alcohol and if there was a need to restructure the tax code.

Schmidt said the legislature needs to be careful when raising taxes on alcohol. She said both the state and the federal governments need to restructure the tax code.

I would definitely sit at the table along with legislators in Madison and look at ways that we could really do something that would be fair for everybody across the board, she said.

DeForest said the state is in desperate need for tax equity.

The wealthier need to pay their fair share, she said. Thats not happening right now.

DeForest said she doesnt believe that tax cuts for the wealthy will create more jobs.

Visit link:
Candidates spar over issues facing Wisconsin

Mississippi Libertarian congressional candidate Ron Williams has a message for the Yankee mayors opposed to Chcik-fil-A's anti-gay agenda: They "need to be introduced to the Second Amendment ASAP."

In a letter to the Sun Herald Williams wrote: "Let me make it clear, the CEO is being punished by government officials because he exercised his First Amendment right of free speech. The Constitution is very clear. When government restricts and punishes the people for exercising their First Amendment rights, then we are to default to the Second Amendment (right to keep and bear arms). These two mayors need to be introduced to the Second Amendment ASAP....The correct response to these mayors would be to send troops or whatever to remove these men from office, by whatever means is necessary."

Williams clarified his statement:

"I'm not saying anybody should go shoot these mayors," Williams said. "But politicians need to be reminded, our founding fathers were quite clear that it's quite possible for our country to fall back into the hands of tyranny ... I'm a thou-shalt-not-kill kind of guy, but these guys should be reminded of the Second Amendment ... I guess the word reminded would have been better (in the letter) ... I needed a thesaurus beside me."

Once again, we have a grandstanding politician in Dixie, whose obsession with defending fundamentalism WITH GUNS overrides the urgency of fixing his state's massive problems. For those who don't know, Mississippi is the most religious state in the nation, but the least Christian in terms of sharing the priorities that Jesus would actually care about.

It's healthcare system is such a shambles that it has turned to Iran for help. Nevertheless, Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant might not take federal money for the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), because presumably he prefers Ahmadinejadcare.

Deep fry and feast on Mississippi's misfortunes[i]:

Sixty-nine percent of adult Mississippians are obese or overweight (Keep eating Chick-fil-A!!)

A Mississippi black man's life expectancy is lower than the average American's life expectancy was in 1960

The rest is here:
Mississippi Madness