Congratulations to Obama / God Save the Country
It's been a little over a week now that Barack Obama has officially won the 2008 US Presidential Election. I was disheartened on election night, and shocked the next morning when I saw that even my relatively conservative state of Indiana went for Obama. Nevertheless, his election is indeed historic and my congratulations go out to him. Though I find it ironic that the first black President is a Democrat. Afterall, the Republican Party was responsible for the freeing of the slaves and the racial equality we all share today. Obama does seem like a decent person- a 'likable' sort of a guy, and perhaps this is why he was elected- on the basis of charisma alone. However, that said, he is a very freighning politician- one of the most liberal US Senators to ever hold the office. The question now is how will he govern as president. Will he govern as a centrist, as he promised during the election? Or will he break yet another promise and return to his liberal roots in the Democratic party, and cow tow to Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid? We shall see.
One of my biggest concerns, as an American citizen, is how he will behave with regard to the Second Amendment and gun control. Obviously, this is the key to being free. All other rights can be rescinded- including the right to vote, at the drop of a hat. The fact that Americans are relatively well-armed is the only thing that guarantees freedom. In 1994, Bill Clinton signed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which that included a prohibition on the sale to civilians of certain semi-automatic "assault weapons" manufactured after the date of the ban's enactment. This was the most far-reaching unconstitutional fireams law to date. It resulted in an overwhelming number of ticked off Americans who promptly threw the democrats out of the Senate and the House in the 1994 elections, bringing about the Republican Revolution. I hope Obama and his fellow democrats recall what happened the last time they started passing unconstitutional laws.
The assult weapons ban was a treatise on how not to make a law. It was one of the worst laws ever passed. Not only was it's definition of 'assault weapon' extremely vague and inconclusive, but it did absolutely nothing to reduce crime. First off, the CORRECT definition of an assault weapon is a weapon that fires an intermediate cartridge, and that is fully-automatic. In other words, not a large caliber weapon, and a weapon that continues to fire as you continue to hold down the trigger. These are NOT the weapons targeted by the ban. The ban targeted 'semi-automatic assault weapons' - a misnomer right there - such as the AR-15, and semi-automatic versions of the AK-47. These are weapons rarely used in crimes- in fact they are used in less than 1% of crimes. The ban also prohbited civilian sale of 'high capacity' (more than 10 round) magazines manufactured after the ban's enactment. It also targeted such features as pistol grips, folding stocks, flash suppressors, and even bayonet lugs! When is the last time you heard of anyone dying from a drive-by bayonetting? Fortunately, the ridiculous law 'sunset' or expired in 2004, as it was a 'test' law to see if it reduced crime. The Attorney General reported, as required by the law, upon it's conclusion that it had no effect whatsoever on crime. This should have been obvious from the outset- as the criminals will obviously not abide by the law- only law-abiding citizens will, by definition.
Unfortunately, Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi (Speaker of the House) have both indicated that they would like to pass a new, perhaps even more restrictive 'assault weapons' ban. If they do, I hope their bags are packed, because they won't be in power long.
While I, and most Americans will go along with some firearms regulation- within reason, I strongly believe that all laws which infringe on the right to keep (own) and bear (carry) arms are in direct violation of the Second Amendment to the Constitution. And the Constitution is the supreme law of the land- superceding all federal and state laws.
The right to keep and bear arms is not a right granted by the government or even the Constitution- it is a right granted by God to all mankind- we all have the right to self-preservation and self-defense. I agree with the US Supreme Court in DC vs. Heller when they said "The very text of the Second Amendment implicitly recognizes the pre-existence of the right and declares only that it“shall not be infringed” and the statement “[t]his is not a right granted by the Constitution. Neither is it in any manner dependent upon that instrument for its existence. The Second amendment declares that it shall not be infringed . . . .”
There is no question that President-Elect Obama was not elected to change firearm laws- as he has said repeatedly during the campaign that he supports the Second Amendment. Unfortunately, his voting record shows otherwise. Therefore, we are all waiting to see which Obama we get as President- the one from the campaign, or the one from the Senate.
One of my biggest concerns, as an American citizen, is how he will behave with regard to the Second Amendment and gun control. Obviously, this is the key to being free. All other rights can be rescinded- including the right to vote, at the drop of a hat. The fact that Americans are relatively well-armed is the only thing that guarantees freedom. In 1994, Bill Clinton signed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which that included a prohibition on the sale to civilians of certain semi-automatic "assault weapons" manufactured after the date of the ban's enactment. This was the most far-reaching unconstitutional fireams law to date. It resulted in an overwhelming number of ticked off Americans who promptly threw the democrats out of the Senate and the House in the 1994 elections, bringing about the Republican Revolution. I hope Obama and his fellow democrats recall what happened the last time they started passing unconstitutional laws.
The assult weapons ban was a treatise on how not to make a law. It was one of the worst laws ever passed. Not only was it's definition of 'assault weapon' extremely vague and inconclusive, but it did absolutely nothing to reduce crime. First off, the CORRECT definition of an assault weapon is a weapon that fires an intermediate cartridge, and that is fully-automatic. In other words, not a large caliber weapon, and a weapon that continues to fire as you continue to hold down the trigger. These are NOT the weapons targeted by the ban. The ban targeted 'semi-automatic assault weapons' - a misnomer right there - such as the AR-15, and semi-automatic versions of the AK-47. These are weapons rarely used in crimes- in fact they are used in less than 1% of crimes. The ban also prohbited civilian sale of 'high capacity' (more than 10 round) magazines manufactured after the ban's enactment. It also targeted such features as pistol grips, folding stocks, flash suppressors, and even bayonet lugs! When is the last time you heard of anyone dying from a drive-by bayonetting? Fortunately, the ridiculous law 'sunset' or expired in 2004, as it was a 'test' law to see if it reduced crime. The Attorney General reported, as required by the law, upon it's conclusion that it had no effect whatsoever on crime. This should have been obvious from the outset- as the criminals will obviously not abide by the law- only law-abiding citizens will, by definition.
Unfortunately, Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi (Speaker of the House) have both indicated that they would like to pass a new, perhaps even more restrictive 'assault weapons' ban. If they do, I hope their bags are packed, because they won't be in power long.
While I, and most Americans will go along with some firearms regulation- within reason, I strongly believe that all laws which infringe on the right to keep (own) and bear (carry) arms are in direct violation of the Second Amendment to the Constitution. And the Constitution is the supreme law of the land- superceding all federal and state laws.
The right to keep and bear arms is not a right granted by the government or even the Constitution- it is a right granted by God to all mankind- we all have the right to self-preservation and self-defense. I agree with the US Supreme Court in DC vs. Heller when they said "The very text of the Second Amendment implicitly recognizes the pre-existence of the right and declares only that it“shall not be infringed” and the statement “[t]his is not a right granted by the Constitution. Neither is it in any manner dependent upon that instrument for its existence. The Second amendment declares that it shall not be infringed . . . .”
There is no question that President-Elect Obama was not elected to change firearm laws- as he has said repeatedly during the campaign that he supports the Second Amendment. Unfortunately, his voting record shows otherwise. Therefore, we are all waiting to see which Obama we get as President- the one from the campaign, or the one from the Senate.
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