Welcome to The Vomiting Brain, a blog about nothing and everything headquartered in the remote syrupy northern enclave known as "Vermont".

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

There are so Many Other Amendments to Violate

NRA official Chris Cox:
...In the aftermath of this terrorist attack, President Obama and Hillary Clinton renewed calls for more gun control, including a ban on whole categories of semi-automatic firearms... 
...The terrorist in Orlando had been investigated multiple times by the FBI. He had a government-approved security guard license with a contractor for the Department of Homeland Security. Yet his former co-workers reported violent and racist comments. Unfortunately, the Obama administration’s political correctness prevented anything from being done about it...
There is just so much stupidity here to unpack...

Firstly, over a hundred years of jurisprudence prior to 2008 recognized no individual right to own firearms.  Even in Heller v. DC, the ruling still left open the possibility that types of firearms could be restricted.

Secondly, yes, the FBI interviewed gunman/terrorist/homophobe/nutcase and there was no evidence of a crime.  In this case, "political correctness" is referring to constitutional protections like the First Amendment's protections of religion and speech, the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable search and seizure, the Fifth Amendment's right to due process, and the 14th Amendment's right to equal protection under the law.

Thirdly, it's a bit ironic that people who are constantly bitching about vague notions of "political correctness" in which they're usually referring to the "right" not to have their fee-fees hurt for saying bigoted and/or sexist things, are implying that this man should have possibly been arrested for doing just that.

I do find the notion that someone could have something recognized as a right taken away for being on a list that is arbitrarily applied and lacks any kind of due process problematic, which is why I don't think individual ownership of firearms should be a right.  Humans just aren't that good with weapons of mass-destruction.

Despite all this, one freedom remains strong in America:  The freedom to get shot.

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