The Assault Weapons Ban as Understood by a 2nd Amendment Scholar

[Movealongmovealong]

A worthwhile video:

Kwame Holman speaks with Second Amendment expert Joyce Lee Malcolm (Prof. of Law at George Mason Univ.) about the Assault Weapons Ban and other current 2nd amendment legislation.

 

[24Carat]

Very good, thanks nice find.

 

[cook4army]

Now I wonder what tactic the gun grabbing crowd will use to discredit this scholar. I'm not going to sit here and believe that they will take this information to heart and suddenly say that she's right.. I suspect they will do anything and everything to make it sound like she was doing this for a particular political party.

Such a shame that one of our most intelligent and knowledgable people of this particular subject will be greatly ignored by the sheepish masses.

 

[Two-Tornadoes]

Thanks for the post. I like what the Dr. said.

I'm kind of surprised PBS would air a pro 2A segment.

Kudos to PBS for stepping away from the liberal bias that is so prevalent in the main stream media.

 

[Jmebd]

GREAT post, Thank you!

In my opinion (and that's all it is...I'm HOPING that we still have the right to free speech here...which is all it is...), it seems like there are people in power (governmental positions) that have "learned" from the terrorists around the world that in fact, terrorism works on people.....sooooo....they've adapted it to work against those citizens in america who are now afraid of just about everything from their own shadow to spooky noises. We've became super SISSY-fied as a nation to where "oh that hurts my feelings so you can't talk that way" or "you can't spank your kids or you'll go to jail for child abuse" (which I think is now a HUGE factor in the way today's youth has turned out but I digress...back to original thought.... certain governmental heads have adopted the "terrorist" attitude and grasp onto a few really bad happenings and thinking "hey, let's get rid of the guns from our citizens.....we can't do it all at once but we'll start with the SCARY looking ones that people are afraid of in the name of making our country safer!" Yeah....soooo....we all know and have heard that a majority of gun crimes ARE NOT done with assault weapons....mostly hand guns (or that's what I've been reading anyway). So they go and get rid of a FEW guns....the SCARY ASSAULT ones they call them...then after that's done and more killings keep happening by crazy dip-tards there will be more so called "governmental studies" done to conclude "hmm....maybe we didn't do enough SO let's pass some MORE gun laws to take MORE guns away and we'll tell them all since we didn't have funding to do the study the first time due to the sequester going on we can't be blamed....when they could have just been enforcing the current laws in place when it comes to re-election time...hmm...oh, that handgun LOOKS scary....it MUST be an assault handgun....HOW could we have missed that the first time???? OH MY! We'll take care of the american people!!!!"

Yeah....I can see if some dude was walking around with a bazooka or RPG or a flamethrower on the street...I might get concerned a bit....

Enough ranting...sorry...just wish people would get their heads out of the sand and realize where this country is going.

 

[Movealongmovealong]

I was particularly impressed by her historical information concerning the wording of the 2nd amendment, pointing out that essentially the framers intended it to be obvious that the "Right of the people to keep and bear arms" was a COUNTERBALANCE to the necessarily armed and regulated militia of the state. In modern parlance, "We recognize that there must be a well-armed and regulated standing military (and in some sense, law enforcement as well) in order to have a free state, BUT just in case a dictator comes along and tries to use that armed and trained force against the people in a non-democratic way, we insist on being able to be armed as well"

So, essentially, the primary reason for the 2nd amendment is to protect against dictatorship, which also gives a strong footing to the concept that "The People" should also have access to strong weaponry as well (strong enough to repel a coup d'etat).

I'm kind of surprised PBS would air a pro 2A segment.

Kudos to PBS for stepping away from the liberal bias that is so prevalent in the main stream media.

Honestly, I'm not because I've been watching the Newshour for a long time. I can say without a shadow of a doubt that it is the most straightforward and honest news program in broadcast or cable, and their opinion material is always very well balanced on the left and right and clearly delineated from the straight news reporting. There is no doubt that this is why Jim Lehrer (who ran Newshour for the last couple of decades, until just recently when he retired) has moderated more Presidential debates that anyone else.

They also have a great website on which there's been a whole section on 2nd amendment topics and gun control for a few months now (since the whole debate flared up).

 

[Trooper]

GREAT post, Thank you!

In my opinion (and that's all it is...I'm HOPING that we still have the right to free speech here...which is all it is...), it seems like there are people in power (governmental positions) that have "learned" from the terrorists around the world that in fact, terrorism works on people.....sooooo....they've adapted it to work against those citizens in america who are now afraid of just about everything from their own shadow to spooky noises. We've became super SISSY-fied as a nation to where "oh that hurts my feelings so you can't talk that way" or "you can't spank your kids or you'll go to jail for child abuse" (which I think is now a HUGE factor in the way today's youth has turned out but I digress...back to original thought.... certain governmental heads have adopted the "terrorist" attitude and grasp onto a few really bad happenings and thinking "hey, let's get rid of the guns from our citizens.....we can't do it all at once but we'll start with the SCARY looking ones that people are afraid of in the name of making our country safer!" Yeah....soooo....we all know and have heard that a majority of gun crimes ARE NOT done with assault weapons....mostly hand guns (or that's what I've been reading anyway). So they go and get rid of a FEW guns....the SCARY ASSAULT ones they call them...then after that's done and more killings keep happening by crazy dip-tards there will be more so called "governmental studies" done to conclude "hmm....maybe we didn't do enough SO let's pass some MORE gun laws to take MORE guns away and we'll tell them all since we didn't have funding to do the study the first time due to the sequester going on we can't be blamed....when they could have just been enforcing the current laws in place when it comes to re-election time...hmm...oh, that handgun LOOKS scary....it MUST be an assault handgun....HOW could we have missed that the first time???? OH MY! We'll take care of the american people!!!!"

Yeah....I can see if some dude was walking around with a bazooka or RPG or a flamethrower on the street...I might get concerned a bit....

Enough ranting...sorry...just wish people would get their heads out of the sand and realize where this country is going.

Some of the more radical libertarians here get upset when I point out that gun control is being mostly pushed as a feminist agenda. It is this desire to have a perfect world, a "civilized world". It is the same thought that the Victorian women (first feminist movement) pushed. That the world would somehow be better if all male behavior is removed. No more competition, no winners or losers. Everyone equal. And if males can be emasculated then no more violence.

The feminists (progressives as opposed to the collectivists or socialism) are at the heart of environmentalism (Ga'ia/Great Mother/Mother Earth), gun control, anti war (Code Pink) and other progressive movements (MADD for example or Million moms against guns).

They raise their daughters but baby their sons who turn out to be sissies (metrosexuals). Feminism pushes hate speech controls, diversity and politically correct thinking. They use the universities to shape the leaders into their way of thinking. They shape who will be the teachers, the journalists, the political leaders.

And much of this was due to our being too prosperous. We forgot how to be competitive, to struggle. We became too comfortable.

 

[jd42k]

Great find and glad that PBS aired that piece.

Here's a quote from a Supreme Court case United States vs. Miller. This supports the message from the video.

On May 15, 1939 the Supreme Court, in a unanimous opinion by Justice McReynolds, reversed and remanded the District Court decision. The Supreme Court declared no conflict between the NFA and the Second Amendment had been established, writing:
"In the absence of any evidence tending to show that possession or use of a 'shotgun having a barrel of less than eighteen inches in length' at this time has some reasonable relationship to the preservation or efficiency of a well regulated militia, we cannot say that the Second Amendment guarantees the right to keep and bear such an instrument."
Describing the constitutional authority under which Congress could call forth state militia, the Court stated, "With obvious purpose to assure the continuation and render possible the effectiveness of such forces the declaration and guarantee of the Second Amendment were made. It must be interpreted and applied with that end in view."
The Court also looked to historical sources to explain the meaning of "militia" as set down by the authors of the Constitution:
"The significance attributed to the term Militia appears from the debates in the Convention, the history and legislation of Colonies and States, and the writings of approved commentators. These show plainly enough that the Militia comprised all males physically capable of acting in concert for the common defense. 'A body of citizens enrolled for military discipline.' And further, that ordinarily when called for service these men were expected to appear bearing arms supplied by themselves and of the kind in common use at the time."

The last sentence is of particular interest.

 

[Cldedhnds]

This Is the common sense explanation that most folks never hear. People with no US Constitutional background or understanding actually debating this issue and arguing against 2A rights are who they listen to.