Gresham On Guns
GUNS&AMMO September 2002
Page 45

Turning The Corner
By Tom Gresham

The future looks bright for Second Amendment believers…but
we must stay vigilant in protecting the rest of our rights
as well.

U.S. Solicitor General, Ted Olsen, included a footnote with
a legal brief sent to the Supreme Court last spring–just a
couple of sentences, but it generated considerable wailing
and gnashing of teeth among the media. All Olsen said was
that it is the position of the U.S. Justice Department that
the Second Amendment is an individual right, not a right
reserved for states, and does not relate to belonging to an
organized militia.

In other words, the Second Amendment means exactly what it
says: “the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall
not be infringed.” The phrase “the people” is used in
almost exactly the same way in the First and Fourth
amendments.

If you read the New York Times, Washington Post or most any
other newspaper in a large city you would have seen opinions
that Attorney General Ashcroft was using the Justice
Department to push his own agenda, which is, of course,
contrary to what everyone knows the Second Amendment says
(according to the papers)–that is, only the National Guard
is guaranteed the right to own guns. However, a number of
editorials got it right They pointed out that the men who
wrote the Bill of Rights were quite clear in their writings,
saying that the intent is that “every man be armed,” In
today’s age of expanded civil rights, that would include
every woman, too.

The media stays behind the curve on this one. For the last
decade, law journal articles (where legal trends often first
show up) have supported the individual right interpretation.
Three years ago, Lawrence Tribe published a revised edition
to his book on constitutional law–the standard text in
nearly all law schools in this country The first edition,
more than 20 years ago, virtually ignored the Second
Amendment The latest version, however, re-examines it, only
to discover that the scholarship is clear. The Second
Amendment guarantees the right to keep and bear arms to
individuals, not states, not governments, not militias, and
not collectives in any form.

In another 10 years it will be widely understood the Second
Amendment clearly states that individuals have the right to
keep and bear arms. With that understanding (supported by
court decisions) will come many changes in laws and how
they’re interpreted.

Gun Ownership “Terrorism?”

While the situation improves regarding the understanding of
gun rights, there’s a sinister aspect to the current federal
government and the mood of the population. The passage of
the Patriot Act is the best example. We’re seeing an
“anything goes” attitude regarding stripping away rights and
protections, as long as it’s done in the name of fighting
terrorism.

When a child at school playing cowboys and Indians points a
finger at another kid and says “bang, bang,’ he’s expelled
for making “terroristic threats.” Anti-rights politicians
already are trying to link gun ownership with terrorism,
calling for the ban of guns that are “too big”–.50-caliber
rifles. I note that they also don’t like guns which are
“too small” (concealable). They don’t like guns which shoot
too fast, or too many times, either. Unlike Goldilocks,
they will never find one which is “just right”

America’s gun owners support the fight against terrorism,
but we must not only be alert, we must speak out loudly
whenever the government takes steps to reduce our rights and
protections under law. If the government can throw someone
they say they suspect of being linked to terrorism in jail
without charging him with a crime, it can throw you in jail
without charging you by saying that your gun collection is
an arsenal linked to terrorism.

Think I’m overstating this? Ask the gentleman who was the
Maryland Citizen of the Year a couple years ago. Maryland’s
attorney general ordered a check on all Maryland gun owners
to go back 40 years. He discovered that when this gentleman
came back to this country after fighting for it overseas in
the 1960s, someone called him a “baby killer’ and he got
into a shoving match with the man. For that he received a
misdemeanor conviction. Now, in the new millennium, the
attorney general sends police to the model citizen’s home
and demands that he turn over all his guns.

Staying Informed

How do you stay up with the news on gun issues? We try to
bring it to you in these pages, but there’s just more than
we can carry. The Internet is an excellent source of
information. Check out gunsandammomag.com along with
keepandbeararms.com, and get on the email lists for the NRA
and Gun Owners of America, and you’ll be the best informed
member of your shooting club. G&A is the major supporter of
“Tom Gresham’s Gun Talk” radio show, which you can catch on
radio, the Internet (www.guntalk.com) or on the new Sirius
satellite radio system.