DURHAM DISPATCH : My cold, dead hands
Posted on Thursday, July 17, 2008
The only time I have written about the Second Amendment was when I wrote about members of the Washington County Militia. I suggested they probably had the Second Amendment tattooed on their chests and slept with a copy of our beloved Constitution under their pillows. Their second in command, Wayne Fincher, believed that he could use the Second Amendment as a defense at his trial for having illegal weapons in his possession. He had built and fired a. 30 cal. air cooled machine gun.
Bless his heart. As best I remember, the judge would not allow him to present his defense in the presence of the jury. He listened to Wayne's defense for two hours. That's a short time for Fincher. He can talk all day about the Constitution and the Second Amendment. As I understand the judge's ruling, he didn't want to deal with constitutional issues in his courtroom. The only place you and I and all the other Wayne Finchers of this country can challenge laws we believe are unconstitutional is in court. Where else ?
Another aspect of Finchers' trial has bothered me for years. The Sixth Amendment states," In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed.... "If read carefully, the Constitution expressly states "... trial by jury... "and, by God, it's quite clear. Wayne Fincher may not have had a right to keep a fully automatic machine gun, which is a violation of federal law, but he did have a right to have his defense heard by a jury.
Recently the Supreme Court, for the first time since the Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791, the Court ruled on the Second Amendment. This concerned the ban on handguns in Washington, D. C. The Court ruled that the ban violated our 2 nd Amendment right to bear arms. The decision applies only to D. C., but it sets a precedent for challenges to similar laws in other cities because it gives individuals the right to have handguns in their homes for home defense.
What has been the troublesome part of the Second Amendment is the wording. "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of the state, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. "Does that apply to individuals or just to state regulated militias ?
The majority ruling was in step with Arkansaw gun laws. Attorney General McDaniel said that the Court is right, gun ownership is an individual right not just a collective right for militias. Rights beget responsibilities and this one should involve some training with an instructor licensed by the state. But there are some people who shouldn't even have a gun like the student at the UofA who was practicing fast draw. He was too fast. He fired before he drew and shot his foot off.
There are numerous pithy axioms and humorous stories about some gun nuts.
"Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he's too old to fight, he'll just shoot you."
"I carry a gun because a cop is too heavy."
"An armed man will kill an unarmed man with monotonous regularity."
Police know how to deal with cop killers. Deputies returned fire and killed a man who had killed a Deputy. When a reporter asked the Sheriff why the guy was shot 79 times, the Sheriff said that was all the bullets they had.
A reporter noticed that a Texas Ranger was carrying a. 45 caliber Colt and asked the Ranger why. The Ranger replied because they didn't make a. 46.
Remember when the actor Robert Blake was tried for shooting his girl friend ? He said he returned to the restaurant because he had forgotten his gun. I've carried guns before and that's something you just don't do. You don't forget and leave your pistol anywhere ! He was acquitted !
There are bumper stickers. One has the silhouette of an assault rifle with the words," Come And Take It. "Others say," Anything Which Does Not Kill Me Had Better Do Enough Damage To Keep Me From Firing Back"and "You Will Get My Gun When You Take It From My Cold, Dead Hands. "I'm rather partial to that one. I believe that's the most popular statement concerning gun control. It's what the actor Charlton Heston shouted while holding a rifle aloft when he was sworn in as President of the NRA, which is by far the most powerful gun lobby in America.
I have Jewish friends who will not allow guns in their homes. I've told them time after time that if the Jews in Warsaw had had weapons, they could have at least fought back against the Nazis. They still don't agree.
Question authority. It's the American way. And have your gun handy.
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