What most citizens unfortunately do not fully understand is the U.S. Constitution does not give rights, nor does the federal, state, or local government give rights to the people, or to individuals of the United States of America.
The Constitution doesn't grant the right to possess a gun.
The constitution protects an inherent inalienable right to unenumerated rights, and the Constitution protects - equally to all citizens - inherent rights which have been enumerated in the Bill of Rights.
this is an important distinction which shows the Brady campaign of gun control is misinformed about the Constitution's Second Amendment.
http://www.bradycampaign.org/facts/issues/?page=second
From the webpage Myth of the Second Amendment
The Second Amendment states: "A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
The NRA tends to omit the first, crucial, half of the Second Amendment - the words referring to a "well-regulated militia."
Response: the NRA doesn't omit the referrenced half of the Second Amendment, but puts it in its place as part of the entire thought carried out by the phrase.
the right of the people to keep and bear arms.
Notice the word people. Had the Framers of the Constitution only wanted the militia, well-regulated, to possess the right to bear arms, the Framers would have simply used militia again in the sentence. Instead, the Framers used the word people.
Remember, too, the Framers were enumerating or taking notice of only two handfuls of rights as warning to the government to stay away from infringing on these rights any time, any place, for any reason!
In addition, the Brady campaign is way off in this paragraph:
The rights guaranteed by the Constitution have never been absolute. The First Amendment protects the freedom of the press, yet libel laws prevent newspapers from printing malicious lies about a person. The First Amendment also protects free speech, yet one cannot yell "Fire" in a crowded theatre. It is doubtful that the Founding Fathers envisioned a time when over 30,000 people are dying from gun violence a year, when high-power military-style weapons like AK-47's with 30-round magazines are available on the streets, when an 14-year-old can take his father's guns and mow down his classmates, or when parents leave a loaded pistol around and a two-year-old can easily fire it.
the Brady campaign is intentionally misleading. All rights which the individual possesses can be used to commit an infraction of another individual's rights, and therefore infringe on another individual's rights. That's why we have courts of law.
People unfortunately have emotions which can be used for good or ill. A person can take a branch from a tree, whittle the branch into a stick, and with malice use the stick to kill someone, thrusting the make-shift dagger into someone's heart.
Does that mean you don't have an inherent right to take a branch from a tree on your own property, whittle away for a day, and produce a wood dagger? Of course not. Use the dagger to show off an artistic talent. Use the dagger to remove dirt from the crack in the door. Use the dagger for a benign purpose. The instant you use the dagger to try to put someone's eye out, you've crossed the line and infringed on someone else's right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
A right to possess arms is guaranteed to - the people - not exclusively to the militia only - under the Constitution. Should an individual use arms to kill, maim, or infringe upon another's rights, that individual is committing a crime.
Our right to bear arms was pulled out of unenumerated rights classification to be noted as a right enumerated in the Constitution to warn the government, all government - do not infringe on this right which of itself enables a protection of all unenumerated rights.
More on this later. I just came across the Brady campaign site, and am reeling from the intentional misinformation contained therein.
NRA Fact Sheet
http://www.nraila.org/Issues/FactSheets/Read.aspx?ID=63
Second Amendment right to bear arms
http://www.nraila.org/Issues/FactSheets/Read.aspx?id=177&issue=010
Site sparks discussion of the topic
http://www.usconstitution.net/consttop_2nd.html
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