Quote:
Originally Posted by Slims
Not true, there is plenty of evidence to indicate the intent of the Founding Fathers, and much of that has already been presented in this discussion.
Arguments against gun ownership have focused on the 'need' for gun bans, and/or contemporary reinterpretations of the constitution.
Nobody has even attempted to submit articles written by the framers of the constitution or their contemporaries that indicates they were 'against' the second amendment being an individual right.
Feel free to do so.
Your 'every point of view is equally valid' argument is no more valid than my argument that the moon is made of cheese.
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Bottom line..it is the Supreme Court that ultimately interprets intent.
And in this rare case, I agree with Scalia (in the DC decision) that the 2nd amendment right is not absolute and is subject to some limitations and restrictions
In the gun case, Justice Antonin Scalia led the majority in analyzing the words of the Second Amendment and the views of its framers and concluding that "they guarantee the individual right to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation."
...Scalia wrote that the right he was announcing, as with other constitutional rights, "is not unlimited." The ruling should not "cast doubt," he added, on restrictions such as barring possession of firearms by felons or the mentally ill or forbidding carrying arms near schools or in government buildings. He also indicated that the use of certain types of weapons could be restricted without running afoul of the Second Amendment.
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202422582170
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Slims
I don't think it is an unreasonable conclusion to think another AWB may be right around the corner. This is because the last democratic administration emplaced a Ban, and now they are in power again and Obama is deliberately dancing around the issue without committing either way. And particularly since, as has been argued on this board, most Americans support another ban. It is a safe bet that with both public support and a supportive administration, such legislation is only a matter of time.
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IMO, it is highly unlikely that Obama or the Democratic Congress will take up an AWB anytime soon.
There are so many more pressing problems that the American public wants addressed which was why, in large part, it was not a campaign issue.
Even though an AWB has widespread public support, it is not a high priority for most.
At best, I could see it as a second term issue for Obama as a legacy but still having a difficult road to passage with the makeup of the Democrats in Congress, including 40+ who are from predominantly republican districts.