jody
jody's JournalIf RKBA is not covered by the 2nd, it is indisputable that it's a natural, inherent, inalienable/
unalienable right covered by the 9th Amendment as I've discussed on DU many times since 2001.
Following are some of my posts that IMO answer your question particularly the second one:
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/jody/36
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/jody/1
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/jody/42
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/jody/37
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/jody/35
The Employment-Population Ratio is another measure of economic recovery. It was 63.7 (unadj) or
64.4 (seas) in Jan 2001 but declined to 58.5 or 58.3 in August 2012.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
http://www.bls.gov/webapps/legacy/cpsatab1.htm
(Unadj) Employment-Population Ratio
Year Jan Aug
[font color = ff0000]2001 63.7 63.5[/font]
2002 62.0 63.0
2003 61.8 62.4
2004 61.6 62.7
2005 61.7 63.2
2006 62.2 63.4
2007 62.6 63.0
2008 62.2 62.3
2009 59.8 59.3
2010 57.8 58.8
2011 57.6 58.5
[font color = ff0000]2012 57.8 58.5[/font]
(Seas) Employment-Population Ratio
Year Jan Aug
2001 64.4 63.2
2002 62.7 62.7
2003 62.5 62.1
2004 62.3 62.4
2005 62.4 62.9
2006 62.9 63.1
2007 63.3 62.7
2008 62.9 62.0
2009 60.6 59.1
2010 58.5 58.5
2011 58.4 58.3
2012 58.5 58.3
In 2008 Obama said "I believe in the Second Amendment. I believe in people's lawful right to bear
arms. I will not take your shotgun away. I will not take your rifle away. I won't take your handgun away."
Obama understood the importance of Bill Clinton's assessment that Gore's perceived opposition to RKBA cost him the election.
Obama promised he would not take away arms but this time voters may not believe him given the actions of Holder and others.
“Partisan Polarization Surges in Bush, Obama Years” Pew Research Center
http://www.people-press.org/2012/06/04/partisan-polarization-surges-in-bush-obama-years/* * * * * * * * * * * *
With regard to the broad spectrum of values, basic demographic divisions along lines such as gender, race, ethnicity, religion and class are no wider than they have ever been. Men and women, whites, blacks and Hispanics, the highly religious and the less religious, and those with more and less education differ in many respects. However, these differences have not grown in recent years, and for the most part pale in comparison to the overwhelming partisan divide we see today.
Please compare the Dem and GOP platforms re RKBA. Speculation welcome on how independent voters
might react to any differences they may perceive between the two parties relative to RKBA.
2012 Democratic National Platform
http://assets.dstatic.org/dnc-platform/2012-National-Platform.pdf
REPUBLICAN PLATFORM 2012
http://www.gop.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/2012GOPPlatform.pdf
Our Right to Keep and Bear Arms
We uphold the right of individuals to keep and bear arms, a right which antedated the Constitution and was solemnly confirmed by the Second Amendment. We acknowledge, support, and defend the lawabiding citizens God-given right of self-defense. We call for the protection of such fundamental individual rights recognized in the Supreme Courts decisions in District of Columbia v. Heller and McDonald v. Chicago affirming that right, and we recognize the individual responsibility to safely use and store firearms. This also includes the right to obtain and store ammunition without registration. We support the fundamental right to self-defense wherever a lawabiding citizen has a legal right to be, and we support federal legislation that would expand the exercise of that right by allowing those with state-issued carry permits to carry firearms in any state that issues such permits to its own residents. Gun ownership is responsible citizenship, enabling Americans to defend their homes and communities. We condemn frivolous lawsuits against gun manufacturers and oppose federal licensing or registration of law-abiding gun owners. We oppose legislation that is intended to restrict our Second Amendment rights by limiting the capacity of clips or magazines or otherwise restoring the illconsidered Clinton gun ban. We condemn the reckless actions associated with the operation known as Fast and Furious, conducted by the Department of Justice, which resulted in the murder of a U.S. Border Patrol Agent and others on both sides of the border. We applaud the Members of the U.S. House of Representatives in holding the current Administrations Attorney General in contempt of Congress for his refusal to cooperate with their investigation into that debacle. We oppose the improper collection of firearms sales information in the four southern border states, which was imposed without congressional authority.
Your comment re patriot implies either you haven't read or don't understand PA & VT constitutions of
1776 and 1777. They say:
A DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE COMMONWEALTH OR STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA 28 Sept. 1776
And
A DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE STATE OF VERMONT 8 Jul. 1777
And
As natural, inherent, inalienable/unalienable rights it is impossible for PA citizens to have given away the right of self-defense and the right keep and bear arms for self-defense when they ratified our Constitution (1787) or when they ratified the BOR (1790) or VT (1791) to have given the same rights away when they accepted the amended constitution.
The men and women who fought against King George in the war for independence believed that each person was a sovereign unto them self and did not have to beg a king or other artificial authority for a privilege. When they approved a compact for a central government they retained some of their rights and powers that government were obligated to protect.
Writers used the word "patriot" to identify those who defend our Constitution and the principles of individual freedom that preceded our Constitution. Jefferson and Madison understood that and that's why they started the Democratic Party and were authors of the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions that defended state rights protected by the Tenth Amendment.
The Oxford English Dictionary third definition of "Patriot" is "A person actively opposing enemy forces occupying his or her country; a member of a resistance movement, a freedom fighter. Originally used of those who opposed and fought the British in the American War of Independence."
Those of us who defend the inalienable/unalienable rights our Constitution requires government to protect are "patriots" in the exact way the word was used since 1773.
Are those who wish to ignore those rights "unpatriotic"? Perhaps that's your problem.
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