Comments by OrlandoNative

Comments by user: OrlandoNative

Posted on: Nevada ACLU supports an individual’s right to bear arms

"There is an avenue provided by the constitution to dispose of the 2nd Amendment, should the American people feel it is appropriate to end the right of individuals to bear arms -- amend the Constitution."

Even if the 2nd amendment were "disposed of"; it still would not empower the government to infringe on the right to bear arms, unless an amendment was specifically created in addition to allow it to do so.

Remember; the powers NOT SPECIFICALLY DESIGNATED to the federal government by the Constitution are owned by the states or the people.

The 2nd amendment did not *GIVE* "the people" the innate right to "keep and bear arms". What the second amendment did was specifically state that that pre-existing right could not be infringed by the government.

Nothing more; nothing less.

One could remove the entire Bill of Rights from the Constitution, and that still would not take those rights away. It would also not authorize the government to limit or otherwise infringe on them. Indeed, some of the debates between the original writers and supporters of the Constitution made that very plain. They originally DID NOT WANT to enumerate individual rights into the Constitution; not because they did not believe in them, or that "the people" had them, but simply to ensure that the government would have no pretext to claim ANY oversight over them.

Unfortunately, the more 'paranoid' of the folks back then felt differently.

Seeing the arguments today over our rights, and what constitutes "reasonable restrictions" in them, I begin to believe the original writers may have been even wiser than the years have proved them to be.

(Suggest removal) 7/11/08 at 11:25 a.m.