Don’t let apathy keep you out of the conversation

This country finds itself mired in yet another national gun control debate. Many things are troubling with this, first among them the lack of some fundamental understandings of the right to keep and bear arms.

Some people are of the belief that the Second Amendment is just like any old amendment to the Constitution, such as the Volstead Act, which became the 19th Amendment prohibiting the sale and transportation of alcohol. That was repealed in 1933. Well, the Second Amendment is not like that. Nope. It is, in fact, one of the amendments in the Bill of Rights. When the Bill of Rights passed, those being the first 10 amendments, they became “ab initio” to the ratification of the Articles of the U.S. Constitution and hence by law “from the beginning.” That means it cannot be repealed.

So, the question is, what is all this bruha about registration, confiscation, capacity of magazines and executive orders coming at us ad nauseam? The federal government was established to protect your sovereign rights, not infringe upon them. In fact, it is impermissible for that entity to do so. Otherwise, the whole system of government fails; it’s kaput, unworkable and thus in the trash bin of history; hence, there is no reason to go along to get along.

However, to date with the Patriot Act (Bush II); American Defense Authorization Act (Obama); Gun Control Acts of 1934, 1938 (Roosevelt), 1968 (Johnson) and 1990 (Bush I); Drones on American soil with not less than probable authority to shoot you and I without due process of law (Obama and Attorney General Holder); and the authority of the federal government now to call areas where the president or members of Congress are addressing people as ”no speech zones,” what’s next!?

Oh yeah, I almost forgot, one of our U.S. senators recently addressed the governor and state Legislature and admonished them for passing what he thinks are “unconstitutional” resolutions concerning federal laws or executive orders driving possible gun seizures in the state of Alaska. Really? What kind of a message was that?

First, if anyone asks any three or four lawyers for a legal opinion, you’re apt to get 10 or 15 different answers. (Yes, lawyers are taught to take many positions at the drop of the hat. It depends on who is asking and who may be paying). Fact is, a U.S. senator represents the state from which he or she hails before the upper house of Congress to the national government as each state retains its own sovereignty.

Second, the Constitution stipulates that no constitutional amendment may be created to deprive a state its equal suffrage in the Senate without that state’s consent.

Third, traditionally only representatives in the House were elected by the people, hence it was called “the People’s House.” Not until the ratification of the 17th Amendment that adopted the Oregon Progressive Plan was a U.S. senator elected by the people. That is what the House was for. The senator was selected by the state legislature and then sent to Washington. The duties are the same. The only thing that changed was how the guy gets to the Senate. (More progressive politics thanks to those bastions of American history — Roosevelt I, (R); Taft, (R); Wilson,(D); and Roosevelt II,(D). Nice work, boys. No need for a republic as the Constitution guaranteed us. Saul Alinski would be proud.

Additionally, since firearms ownership is a right, not a privilege, and the state retains sovereignty in many areas, that being the Ninth and 10th Amendments as well as the Articles of the U.S. Constitution, then firearms laws are actually a state issue.

Gee whiz, what a novel thought! Further, if there are any restrictions on a right that is something we are born with, not granted by government, then before any controls are brought to bear against your rights the standard of review is “strict searching scrutiny and it must be the least restrictive alternative.” So guess what? It’s up to the Supreme Court to decide within the confines of judicial review what’s legal and what is not.

The opinion of a bunch of lawyers one-way or the other, or of a U.S. senator or an executive order, doesn’t pass muster. Executive orders are merely directives to assist executive branch officers in managing the operations within the federal government and to direct federal employees in carrying out their lawful duties. The president is granted executive authority, which is the mandate to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed.”

There is no Constitutional provision or statute that explicitly permits executive orders, nor that they are an edict from a king! Under judicial review, the court is mandated to regard the Constitution as superior to any ordinary act of the Congress (or for that matter, an executive order), and that the Constitution must govern the case and applies. So this isn’t just about firearms, it’s more akin to Caleb’s Mount-like hoof beats thundering on all sides. More than a fair amount of treasure, blood and toil has been spent to secure your rights and prosperity. Even everyone’s favorite Communist, Chairman Mao said, “All politics comes from the barrel of a gun.”

Make of that what you will; however, it is well past time to turn off the boob tube, put down that beer and bag of Doritos and read, reason, engage and speak out, or it may become too late to shift the tide. Don’t be a quisling like some spokespersons and pundits telling you to just go along to get along, and for God’s sake, do not rock the boat. Nonsense!

Verne E. Rupright has been Wasilla mayor since 2008.