Kratman's article is excellent, and thank you for directing me to him. His writing comports with and supports some of my own ideas.
Most especially, I view the First and Second Amendments, not as the reservation of rights, but as the enumeration of powers to a Fourth Branch of the government, that is, We the People. I'm putting this forward not as a legal argument, but as a way of for us to think about our role, that is, as sovereigns, not subjects.
"When you consider the First and Second Amendments in this way, attempts by the government to limit or infringe those rights are exposed as attempts of one branch of government to usurp the powers of another. It is as if during the State of the Union address, soldiers equipped with riot gear and rifles stationed themselves around the chamber, while the President announced a list of bills he wanted passed…."
This was posted over at the GunBurger piece, so I deleted it from there:
Ahab has left a new comment on your post "Welcome to Gun Burger, May I Take Your Order...?":
This is the best piece I've read on the ramifications of those first six amendments of the Bill of Rights, specifically the First and Second Amendments I've read in recent memory. Tom Kratman has defined the issue as no other has in almost forever.
Too bad only people that read pieces in "The War On Guns," and over at "Sipsey Street Irregulars" will get to see it. The whole of the population needs to read this and think about everything presented. No other issue in modern times, not since the issue of slavery, has the potential to bring this nation to civil war if the federal government attempts to make defunct the Second Amendment.
Mr Kratman is absolutely correct. As long as there is a First Amendment the exercise of which keeps everyone informed of what's going on in and around our government, then "we the people" will and can retain the right with the Second Amendment to overthrow a tyrannical and oppressive government.
Kratman is one of my favorite current writers. From context you can tell that this is a somewhat older piece, but still relevant.
ReplyDeleteKratman's article is excellent, and thank you for directing me to him. His writing comports with and supports some of my own ideas.
ReplyDeleteMost especially, I view the First and Second Amendments, not as the reservation of rights, but as the enumeration of powers to a Fourth Branch of the government, that is, We the People. I'm putting this forward not as a legal argument, but as a way of for us to think about our role, that is, as sovereigns, not subjects.
"When you consider the First and Second Amendments in this way, attempts by the government to limit or infringe those rights are exposed as attempts of one branch of government to usurp the powers of another. It is as if during the State of the Union address, soldiers equipped with riot gear and rifles stationed themselves around the chamber, while the President announced a list of bills he wanted passed…."
The man can throw some light around.
ReplyDeleteThis was posted over at the GunBurger piece, so I deleted it from there:
ReplyDeleteAhab has left a new comment on your post "Welcome to Gun Burger, May I Take Your Order...?":
This is the best piece I've read on the ramifications of those first six amendments of the Bill of Rights, specifically the First and Second Amendments I've read in recent memory. Tom Kratman has defined the issue as no other has in almost forever.
Too bad only people that read pieces in "The War On Guns," and over at "Sipsey Street Irregulars" will get to see it. The whole of the population needs to read this and think about everything presented. No other issue in modern times, not since the issue of slavery, has the potential to bring this nation to civil war if the federal government attempts to make defunct the Second Amendment.
Mr Kratman is absolutely correct. As long as there is a First Amendment the exercise of which keeps everyone informed of what's going on in and around our government, then "we the people" will and can retain the right with the Second Amendment to overthrow a tyrannical and oppressive government.