Quote:
|
However, the U.S. Supreme Court has held that the amendment merely protects the right of states to form a state militia (United States v. Miller, 307 U.S. 174, 59 S. Ct. 816, 83 L. Ed. 1206 [1939]).
|
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by willravel
The view of the Supreme Court is in line with my beliefs. The so called "right to bear arms" is in fact the right to maintain a militia. If you are not an active member of a militia, then you do not have the constitutionally protected right to bear arms. If you believe that you have a fundamental right to bear arms, that can be your belief, but to own a gun is a privelage for the responsible, not a right for the masses.
|
A commonly misinterpreted ruling, vehemently pushed forward by the anti gun crowd. In truth, the USSC has only had 5 cases come before it regarding the second amendment and all 5 times have declined to make a decision on individual vs. collective(states) rights. The miller case opinion only rules on whether or not the sawed off shotgun has relevance to a militia weapon, or in other words, is it used by the military. At that time, it was ruled that it did not, but only because miller was not there to present evidence that it did. And how is it a 'so called' right to bear arms when it is plainly stated there?
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by willravel
As to the handgun ban in the UK, it is not an apt comparison to the DC gun ban. The UK gun ban is occouring on an island, and is country-wide. The same is hardly true for Washington D.C. That might explain the differences in success. Just for the sake of information, Britain remains one of the countries with the lowest homicide rate in the world accounting for 853 homicides in the reporting period 2003/04 according to the Home Office's Crime Statistics. ( http://www.crimestatistics.org.uk/output/page40.asp) I'd like to take this opportunity to congratulate our older brother, the UK ,for several years of decreasing violence. |
While the UK may have a low homicide rate (although in 2003, chicago had 599 murders), the rest of violent crime (rapes, robberies, home invasions, and assaults) have risen dramatically, not all committed with guns, but against defenseless citizens none the less.