How The Other Side Thinks

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MadDogs

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The following is a good read that helps understand how the people who are against our rights as citizens to keep and bear arms think. As well, it shares why elections have consequences.


In a May 22 editorial examining the Obama administration’s push against 3-D printed guns, the LA Times made clear its conviction that the individual right to keep and bear arms was created by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) in 2008.

The Times contends that the SCOTUS created the right via the District of Columbia v Heller decision. That decision struck down Washington DC’s gun ban on the grounds that the ban went against the “individual right to keep and bear arms,” protected by the Second Amendment.
Without mincing words, the Times responded: “We disagreed, believing that the [Second Amendment’s] reference to “a well-regulated militia” limits the right to keep and bear arms to organized military units.”

On June 27, 2008–just one month after the Heller ruling was handed down–the Times quickly went on record to establish its position that the court had made a mistake.

Presented with two historically plausible arguments about whether the 2nd Amendment secures an individual right to keep and bear arms, the Supreme Court on Thursday opted for the interpretation less suited to a 21st century America bedeviled by gun crime. That’s the disappointing part of the court’s long-awaited ruling striking down the District of Columbia’s strict gun-control ordinance.

In December 2012 Breitbart News pointed out that The New York Times was pushing this same theory - the theory that an individual right to keep and bear arms was never our Founders’ intention and that such a right is the result of a 2008 misinterpretation by the SCOTUS.

NYT quoted Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III, who said Scalia “read an ambiguous constitutional provision as creating a substantive right” and who described the Heller decision as “a form of judicial activism that is new, yet familiar.”

While it is easy to laugh off the false narrative put forward by the LA Times and the NYT, it is a mistake to do so. And the fact that the LA Times is still pushing the narrative in 2015 is proof enough of why dismissing the effort out of hand is the wrong approach to take.

The proper response is to realize that the left’s goal is to keep alive the theory that the individual right to keep and bear arms rests on a 2008 misinterpretation. By so doing, they hope to keep the door open to a more liberal SCOTUS reversing Heller at some future time, thereby making the ability to keep and bear arms dependent on the laws of individual states rather than on the bedrock, natural right foundation on which our Founding Fathers built.


Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at [email protected].
 

henschman

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Yes... the "incompatible with modern society" line of thought is very prevalent with the other side. Fortunately, that myth is being debunked every single day that states liberalize gun laws and see no corresponding increase in violence. The states with virtually no regulation of gun possession or carry (the Constitutional Carry states) make a particularly great example. They allow the question to be put to folks: "what is it about the citizens of Maine, Arizona, Alaska, and Wyoming make them more deserving of freedom than the citizens of _______?"

Part of the disconnect with the "other side" is that many of them have a much higher trust in government than those on "our side" of this particular issue. Distrust of government is what the original meaning of the 2A was all about. Remember it was the Anti-Federalists, who were anti-Constitution and believed it created too powerful of a national government, who insisted that it be added if we were going to be stuck with the scheme. Today, many on the "anti" side don't even recognize the simple truth that the essence of government is organized violence. They see it as some sort of benevolent institution, and believe that the persistent corruption and collusion with the powerful is just an aberration that can be corrected by the right policies, rather than the immutable, unchangeable nature of the institution.

Another meme that I see a lot with the antis is the idea that those who believe on the original meaning of the 2A are dangerous "insurrectionists." This one is undeniably true... insurrection is most certainly what it is all about. The challenge is making people see that this is not a bad thing. I like to ask people whether there is anything the government could ever do that would cause them to resist. If they can list anything at all, I say "welcome, fellow insurrectionist." The fact is all but the most pathetic state-fetishists have at least a few things that they would be willing to revolt over.
 

Poke78

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Using the word "thinks" to explain the actions of the anti-2A crowd gives entirely too much credit, IMO. The lack of logic and reason in their non-persuasive arguments, coupled with total historical ignorance, provides ample evidence to question the overall brain power at work. There's ample evidence they work more on a glandular level, as evidenced by the crocodile tears that are shed over such luminaries as the Gentle Giant, Michael Brown. Occasionally, they raise their argument to the emotional level with appeals like "it's for the children!" They ought to thank God that He made breathing an autonomic function since I'd be amazed if their computational powers would allow them to remember to breathe.
 

MadDogs

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Using the word "thinks" to explain the actions of the anti-2A crowd gives entirely too much credit,

Agreed that the anti-gun rights people try to validate their point with “emotion” rather than fact. But with that said, we need to understand their thought process to be able to effectively counter their emotional, sans fact arguments.

Most important … for those that view our rights as a critical issue for an election …. Is that our votes matter.

While “confiscation” would not likely happen, banning ammo, restricting weapons or accessories as well as prohibitive taxes could limit our rights. Elections have consequences.
 

colb

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Yeah, I can see how it was totally misinterpreted:



"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms."
- Thomas Jefferson, Virginia Constitution, Draft 1, 1776


"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.... Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man."
- Thomas Jefferson, Commonplace Book (quoting 18th century criminologist Cesare Beccaria), 1774-1776


"The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms."
- Samuel Adams, Massachusetts Ratifying Convention, 1788


"Firearms stand next in importance to the constitution itself. They are the American people's liberty teeth and keystone under independence … from the hour the Pilgrims landed to the present day, events, occurences and tendencies prove that to ensure peace security and happiness, the rifle and pistol are equally indispensable … the very atmosphere of firearms anywhere restrains evil interference — they deserve a place of honor with all that's good."
George Washington




Seems pretty clear to me.
 

Coded-Dude

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Ignorance is bliss(although wilful ignorance can be very dangerous). Apparently some people don't understand the purpose of the supreme court(or care to have an understanding of American history; what "militia" meant at that time)...SCOTUS doesn't create anything. They merely interpret, and in the case of Heller they got it 100% right. Now if they would just take up a carry case and do the same, we could have precedent that not only secures the right to keep, but also the right to bear.
 

MadDogs

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Yeah, I can see how it was totally misinterpreted:



"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms."
- Thomas Jefferson, Virginia Constitution, Draft 1, 1776


"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.... Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man."
- Thomas Jefferson, Commonplace Book (quoting 18th century criminologist Cesare Beccaria), 1774-1776


"The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms."
- Samuel Adams, Massachusetts Ratifying Convention, 1788


"Firearms stand next in importance to the constitution itself. They are the American people's liberty teeth and keystone under independence … from the hour the Pilgrims landed to the present day, events, occurences and tendencies prove that to ensure peace security and happiness, the rifle and pistol are equally indispensable … the very atmosphere of firearms anywhere restrains evil interference - they deserve a place of honor with all that's good."
George Washington




Seems pretty clear to me.

But not clear to those that can't see clearly.
 

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