FISH OR CUT BAIT

(SitNews) - “If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don’t know.” With those two statements Donald Trump set off another media firestorm based on the supposition that he was condoning violence against Hillary Clinton. In effect, the media is implying that all 2nd Amendment supporters advocate violence as a means of attaining their goals. I am not buying it and neither should you.

Why, in a country founded on a Constitution emulated by other countries, are supporters of constitutional rights being pilloried by the press? When you abhor a document that granted so many rights to our citizens I must question what it is you are trying to attain: Anarchy, totalitarianism or tyranny? Obviously, you don’t like our current form of representative democracy founded on two simple and reasonable documents, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

Trump Secret Service
By Rick McKee ©2016, The Augusta Chronicle

I do not believe Donald Trump would ever advocate violence as a means to a political end, other than defeating terrorism, nor would any of the 2nd Amendment supporters I have met over the years. What Donald Trump was saying is that the only way we can defend our rights under the Constitution is at the ballot box. That is the only real “power” citizens have in our country. Issues are won at local elections, state elections and national elections.

As I see it, our country is currently being ruled by minorities, contrary to how a representative democracy is meant to be ruled.

It took a Supreme Court ruling to override state rights on the issue of same-sex marriage. The Court interpreted the Constitution rather than determining if current Federal legislation discriminated against same-sex marriage. But the yardstick the Supremes used was not the Constitution; the Constitution does not address marriage. They instead ruled on state laws, declaring that states were violating a constitutional right not addressed by the Constitution. And once again, we have the Supreme Court interpreting the Constitution based on what is not in it rather than what is in it and they did it without involving the Legislature. The Supreme Court is supposed to compare laws to the Constitution, not create laws simply because the Constitution does not address issues that either did not exist or were not issues when it was ratified.

It is but a simple step for a Supreme Court comprised of an activist liberal majority to employ the same methods when it comes to the 2nd Amendment. In 1876 the Court ruled that the right to bear arms is not granted by the Constitution, and that right also is not dependent on that document for its existence. The right pre-existed in common law and early state constitutions. The Second Amendment was written to prevent disarming the local militias. The amendment is there to ensure our rights cannot be forcibly excised by the Federal government. Naturally, progressives and liberals have a problem with this because their goal is to have the Federal government control everything. It never has been about gun violence; that is the red herring in the debate.

In essence, what Donald Trump was saying is this election will determine who sits on the Supreme Court as a lifetime appointee. With the Court’s record of ruling in favor of minority positions and interpreting the Constitution rather than our written laws there is a likely threat to the 2nd Amendment with Hillary Clinton in the Oval Office. The difference is that firearm owners make up over 40% of the population, and they vote. There is something they can do that is as far removed from violence as one can achieve.

Bob Ciminel ©2016

Bob Ciminel's articles may include satire and parody, and mix fact with fiction. He assumes informed readers will be able to tell the difference. Bob is retired and lives in South Carolina, he worked for the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations. He has also been a conductor on the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway, and currently volunteers for numerous projects in his community.

This column has been edited by the author. Representations of fact and opinions are solely those of the author.

Representations of fact and opinions in comments posted are solely those of the individual posters and do not represent the opinions of Sitnews.

SitNews ©2016
Stories In The News
Ketchikan, Alaska

Articles & photographs that appear in SitNews may be protected by copyright and may not be reprinted without written permission from and payment of any required fees to the proper sources. E-mail your news & photos to editor@sitnews.us Photographers choosing to submit photographs for publication to SitNews are in doing so granting their permission for publication and for archiving. SitNews does not sell photographs. All requests for purchasing a photograph will be emailed to the photographer.