22 April 2008

Here's Something You Don't See Often In The Daily Kos

Did hell freeze over or are pigs flying?

There's a very well written piece in yesterday's Daily Kos from an individual who is defending the individual right to keep and bear arms. Yes, defending the 2A!

Some good snippets:

"All of our rights, even the ones enumerated in the Bill of Rights, are restricted. You can't shout "Fire!" in a crowd. You can't threaten to kill the president. You can't publish someone else's words as your own. We have copyright laws and libel laws and slander laws. We have the FCC to regulate our radio and television content. We have plenty of restrictions on our First Amendment rights.

"But we don't like them. We fight them. Any card-carrying member of the ACLU will tell you that while we might agree that some restrictions are reasonable, we keep a close eye whenever anyone in government gets an itch to pass a new law that restricts our First Amendment rights. Or our Fourth. Or our Fifth, Sixth, or Eighth.

"We complain about free speech zones. The whole country is supposed to be a free speech zone, after all. It says so right in the First Amendment.

"But when it comes to the Second Amendment . . . You could hear a pin drop for all the protest you'll get from liberals when politicians talk about further restrictions on the manufacture, sale, or possession of firearms.

"Suddenly, overly broad restrictions are "reasonable." The Washington D.C. ban on handguns -- all handguns -- is reasonable. (Later this year, the Supreme Court will quite likely issue an opinion to the contrary in the Heller case.) Would we tolerate such a sweeping regulation of, say, the Thirteenth Amendment?"

Read the entire essay. The author is getting flamed like you can't believe in the comments section. Take a moment and support this open-minded, enlightened individual. And thank them for taking the time to educate Daily Kos readers!

No comments: