One of my biggest concerns about America today is the
erosion of Liberty envisioned by the Founding Fathers. This erosion is being
exacted by the American Left dedicated to transforming the USA into a State
controlled socio-political culturally humanist paradigm. This means the
termination of Religious Liberty, Free Speech, Free Thought and the Right to
Self-Defense that America has experienced largely thanks to the political
institutions set into motion by America’s Founders.
In this editorial Justin Smith looks inalienable Right to
self-defense that exists not because of a man-made document, but rather exists
by the Will of God.
JRH 2/27/19
Your generosity is always appreciated:
*************************
A Right Granted Us By
God
Gun Control Laws Are Illegitimate
By Justin O. Smith
Sent 2/25/2019 8:47
PM
"False is the idea of
utility that sacrifices a thousand real advantages for one imaginary or
trifling inconvenience; that would take fire from men because it burns, and
water because one may drown in it; that has no remedy for evils except
destruction. The laws that forbid the carrying of arms are laws of such a
nature. They disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to
commit crimes.” ~ Cesare Beccaria,
American culture and this society have become so
pusillanimous, that they have incredibly fought to tamp down and suppress the
God-given right to the lawful act of self-defense and bearing arms to properly
defend one's person, family and property. More often we see both Democrats and
so-called Republicans urging some manner of control over people already doing
everything right, with the Democrats offering the harshest measures. It is as
if they somehow imagine that limiting law-abiding citizens' right to keep and
bear arms will stop criminals and gun violence, which is akin to cutting the
horns off a water buffalo as an answer to lion attacks.
Not the federal government, not the state governments, not
any majority group of voters and certainly not any government official, elected
or otherwise ... none of the aforementioned have any legal authority to impede
or infringe upon anyone's God-given right to keep and bear arms, by any means
or any measure or any arbitrary "rule" they color with the
illegitimate use of the word "law". A right granted Us by God as seen
through Natural Law cannot be legislated out of existence.
[Blog Editor: On a
personal I lean to the belief in the existence of Natural Law: viz., Law
originating from God. But in full disclosure concepts of Natural Law and
Natural Rights philosophically have a bit of controversy. So here are some
titles to stretch your mind – perhaps you can locate yourself:
o What
is “natural law”? How is God fundamental to it? Rediscover
– Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis; © 2006, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
o HOW
ARE GUN RIGHTS GOD-GIVEN AND INALIENABLE? By AWR Hawkins, Ph.D.; The Daily
Caller; 5/10/2012 12:01 PM
o Natural Rights,
Self-Defense, and the Right to Own Firearms; By TIMOTHY HSIAO; Public Discourse;
10/31/18
o Blackstone's View of
Natural Law and Its Influence on the Formation of American Declaration of
Independence and the Constitution; By Kent Schmidt; Sullivan-County.com;
© Oak Brook College of Law and Government Policy All Rights Reserved.
o Natural
Rights and Natural Law; By James A. Donald; Jim.com; (N0 publication date
but an interesting bibliography)
o
JOHN LOCKE and the NATURAL LAW and NATURAL RIGHTS TRADITION;
By Steven Forde, University of North
Texas; Witherspoon Institute’s
online center for Natural
Law, Natural Rights, and American Constitutionalism; (No publication
date)]
America currently has numerous states from California to
Hawaii, Illinois and Vermont to Washington, New Jersey, Florida and Oregon
trying to limit their citizens' right to bear any weapon of the same
sophistication as the U.S. military carries. Normally reticent as I am to quote
the Supreme Court, as an example, due to its judicial activism, it is important
to note that even the Court held this to be a God-given right that pre-exists
government and the Constitution, in the majority ruling on Heller v. District of Columbia 2008.
[Blog Editor: Bill
of Rights Institute summary]
And yet, one more of the most egregious gun "laws"
has just reared its ugly head in Ohio, without any more understanding of the
Constitution than other pieces of legislation that have done nothing in L.A.,
New York or Chicago to stop gun violence.
Ohio House Bill 228 [PDF download] passed in December 2018, and it
was largely intended to clarify when shooting someone in self-defense is
legally justified; however, due to a HUGE drafting ERROR by the Legislative
Services Commission and a misplaced provision regarding the Mossberg
Shockwave shotgun, thousands of people will be turned into instant
criminals overnight when this bill takes effect on March 28th 2019.
Dean Rieck, head of Buckeye Firearms Association,
had worked closely with legislators on this legislation. He observed that many
bills were flying about at the time, with Democrats firing off their own
amendments and lobbyists and protesters adding to the chaos. The confusion of
the day made an environment ripe for human error.
While everyone involved is saying this was an "honest
mistake", it is highly suspect that it occurred during a lame-duck session
of the state legislature. Even more suspect, the error wasn't caught, until
after the bill was passed. This just shows how incompetent or devious leaders
of the day can be.
Who were the proofreaders? Who signed off on the final
draft?
Don't lawmakers read a damn bill these days, before signing
it? Obviously or conveniently not.
On March 28th 2019, any firearm of at least twenty-six
inches and approved for sale by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
under the Gun Control Act of 1968, that is somehow not regulated under the National Firearm Act (NFA) of 1934, will be classified as
"dangerous ordnance". This turns an AR15, a thumbhole stock rifle,
flash suppressors and other cosmetic features into dangerous ordnance and a
felony to possess.
I submit that even a tax on firearms is illegal and
unconstitutional, since it too carries an impediment of sorts to owning
weapons. And here one must note, the NFA was held to be constitutional as a tax
revenue measure. No entity has ever stated the federal government, or any
government, has the power and authority to ban firearms of any type; this also
is equally applicable to ammunition.
Many citizen groups and activist leaders, such as Jeremy
Deter, have joined in protests, that forced the legislators to take heed and
move for an immediate emergency fix, after initially stating they would have to
wait 90 days before they could do anything. The Ohio State Legislature met on
February 19th to enter a fix, at the urging of Senator Kristina Daley Roegner, who took a stand for the citizen
groups, who introduced Bill 53. And
predictably so, Democrats are now pushing back against any fix, as they contend
no damage to firearms owners' rights will result from Bill 228 as written,
despite proof to the contrary.
Regardless of just how much damage it will or won't do,
without the proper correction to the error, the new "law" will be
UnConstitutional as written, anyway one wishes to view it.
One option is to fix the error in the state budget, which
will be introduced March 15th and passed into law on July 1st. This delay was
called "unacceptable" by Chris Dorr, director of Ohio Gun Owners.
Senator Cecil Thomas, a retired
police officer and a Cincinnati Democrat,
noted that this all results from rushing through legislation in a lame duck
session. Thomas said, "It's just a bad way
of doing business now, and mistakes are made ...".
Addressing the legislators, Eva Silvers, an advocate for the
Second Amendment, called the law "unconstitutional" and exclaimed: "You took a
constitutional oath to protect the people of this country. Will you enforce an
unconstitutional law?"
Understanding the gun-grabbers will do everything in their
power to keep this egregious "law" on Ohio's books, calls have one
out across the nation to meet on March 28th in an armed protest at the State
Capitol Building. Ohio is currently an "open carry" state, and the
reason for having the protest the day after the bad law goes into effect, is to
show it is an unenforceable law. But, they are also getting county sheriffs on
their side, who have already acknowledged they do not plan to enforce it as it
stands, and if the fix is passed in the meantime, everybody will still meet on
the State Capitol steps in Columbus, in celebration.
The Declaration of Independence states: "We hold these
truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are
endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are
Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." The Second Amendment helps
Americans defend and protect Our Life and Liberty, and that makes me happy.
All patriotic freedom-minded Americans must rush to the aid
of their countrymen in Ohio and any and all the other states and stand firm,
tough and ready in the face of illegitimate and illegal legislation, by way of
all manner of protest and petition.
Wherever Our God-given Rights, the Bill of Rights and the
Second Amendment are under heavy assaults by those who seek not to govern, over
a sovereign nation of Free Born Americans, as their fellow patriot and brother
in Liberty, seeking instead to rule as their lord and master, in a manner that
reduces all to serfs of the state, We cannot allow it -- We must not allow it,
for it bears the name "tyranny", and it will not reign over my
children, their children and their children's children, so long as there
remains breath in my body, a rifle in my hand.
"The right to bear arms has always been the distinctive privilege of
freemen. Aside from any necessity of self-protection to the person, it represents
among all nations power coupled with the exercise of a certain jurisdiction.
... It was not necessary that the right to bear arms should be granted in the
Constitution, for it had always existed." ~ John Ordronaux, Constitutional Legislation in the United States 241-242 (1891)
By Justin O. Smith
______________________
Edited by John R. Houk
Text embraced brackets as well as source links are by the
Editor.
© Justin O. Smith
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