If there are still people in the United States harboring the fantasy that the 2nd amendment has anything to do with an individual citizens right to own a gun they should go talk to Plaxico Burress’ lawyer.
Plaxico Burress began a 2 year sentence yesterday for carrying a concealed weapon without a permit in New York City, a permit by the way, that is almost impossible for an ordinary citizen to get.
During Sotomayor’s confirmation hearing a lot of senators paid lip service to the 2nd amendment’s “right to bear arms” as if those are the only words in the 2nd amendment and the opening words, ” a well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state..” simply don’t exist.
Lou Dobbs has also shown the same constitutional ignorance of the 2nd amendment and maybe for the same pandering reasons since he generally has a right wing agenda. But not a word out of Dobbs yesterday about Burress being carted off to jail.
As I have written many times before and as former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Warren Berger has also said publicly, the 2nd amendment has nothing to do with an individual’s right to own a gun. If it did Burress would not be going to jail.
The 2nd amendment is purely a states rights issue guaranteeing the states the right to have their own armies and arsenals to defend themselves. That’s it.
A constitutional right is a fundamental guaranteed right that cannot be legislated away. So what part of the words “shall not be infringed” did the New York city council not understand? Or Burress’ lawyer? Where are all the gun owners always howling about 2nd amendment rights coming to Burress’ defense? Where is the NRA? Where are all the pandering members of congress who talk about “a right to bear arms” as it applies to citizens, like Jeff Sessions of Alabama, a state with the strictest gun laws in the country who grilled Sotomayor on her views of the 2nd amendment?
Where are these members of congress who pander for NRA campaign contributions claiming the New York City law is unconstitutional? There hasn’t been a word from any of them. The silence has been deafening.
Last night Ed Shultz a liberal commentator talked about the Burress sentencing but never mentioned the 2nd amendment when he complained that the sentence was too harsh. I don’t know what part of “mandatory” Shultz doesn’t understand, but there is a mandatory sentence for the law that Burress violated.
It’s a law that couldn’t exist if the 2nd amendment had anything to do with an individual’s right to own a gun. So hopefully all politicians will take note, including President Obama who has done his share of pandering on the 2nd amendment.
If President Obama or any other politician thinks the constitution guarantees an individual the right to “keep and bear arms”, and that it’s a right, as the constitution plainly states, that “cannot be infringed”, then lets see them stand up against Burress going to jail and claim its unconstitutional. Because Burress going to jail for 2 years isn’t fantasy football. Which should finally put an end to fantasies about the 2nd amendment.