Second Short Quiz – Gun-Safety Laws and the Second Amendment

[johnkarls]

.

1. Is the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution part of the “Bill of Rights” (i.e., the first 10 Amendments) which were promised by the Authors of the Constitution as a sine qua non for obtaining ratification of the Constitution by a sufficient number of states?

2. Does the Second Amendment say – “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”?

3. Regardless of the historical analysis of the U.S. Supreme Court, have we often studied in other contexts --

(A) Contrary to popular perception, George Washington and the Revolutionary Army were NOT the reason for the 13 colonies winning their independence from England.

(B) Throughout the conflict, George Washington and his army did virtually nothing but retreat, finally facing surrender on Chesapeake Bay when Lord Cornwallis’ troops which had out-run their supply lines, were expecting the English fleet to show up with new supplies and “saw the writing on the wall” when the French fleet showed up instead.

(C) Cornwallis immediately surrendered and Washington was credited by American historians with the victory – but it was really the French fleet which should have been credited!!!

(D) THE REAL AMERICAN HEROES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION WERE THE “MINUTEMEN” who, literally as described inter alia in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s epic poem “Paul Revere’s Ride,” were expected to, AND DID, grab their muskets and WITHIN ONE MINUTE of receiving an alarm, were engaging English “Red Coats.”

4. Accordingly, is it surprising that the U.S. Supreme Court would (A) uphold the Second Amendment right of homeowners to bear arms to protect their homes, while (B) restricting the right to bear arms to muskets and their modern-day equivalent – not tanks, airplanes, etc.?

5. Do recent U.S. Supreme Court opinions include –

(A) District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) - The Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.

(B) McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010) – The Second Amendment applies to state and local governments, courtesy of the “Due Process Clause” of the Fourteenth Amendment.

(C) Caetano v. Massachusetts (2016) – the Second Amendment extends to all “bearable arms” even if not in existence at the time the Second Amendment was adopted (and re-affirmed that the Second Amendment is fully applicable to state and local governments).

(D) New York Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022) – The Second Amendment prohibits a state from denying a license to purchase a handgun for use OUTSIDE THE HOME for self-defense without showing a “proper cause” for a heightened need for self-protection over the general population. HOWEVER, the 6-3 majority opinion was accompanied by a concurring opinion from Justice Kavanaugh in which Chief Justice Roberts joined (MEANING A FAILURE TO SATISFY THEM WOULD REDUCE THE 6-3 MAJORITY TO A 4-5 MINORITY) which said that it was NOT intended to invalidate such restrictions as fingerprinting, background checks, mental health evaluations, and mandatory training requirements – stressing that such requirements are objective rather than subjective (though query whether a mental health evaluation can ever be anything but subjective!!!).

6. On 5/17/2023, did the U.S. Supreme Court leave in place an Illinois law banning AR-15-style weapons and large ammunition magazines while the case (National Association for Gun Rights v. City of Naperville and State of Illinois) wends its leisurely way up to the Supreme Court?

7. Re the Bi-Partisan “Safer Communities Act of 2022,” does the Wikipedia article provide a decent description of the Act’s Sections 12001 thru 12005 dealing with firearms and gun safety (please see the article at viewtopic.php?f=744&t=2344&sid=99333e2f ... 7314118795 and the text of the Act at https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-con ... /2938/text)?

8. Were the 10 Democrat U.S. Senators on Sen Cornyn’s Bi-Partisan Group of 10 Democrats and 10 Republicans presumably constrained in their demands by the realization that the hundreds of 2020 race riots around the nation have spurred gun sales?

9. Indeed, have gun sales sky rocketed since 2020 among suburban housewives, a key voting bloc for the Democrat Party in the 2020 election?

10. BTW, do proponents of gun-safety laws point to all the countries (e.g., the U.K.) which do NOT permit citizens, in general, to bear arms?

11. Do such countries have such a high proportion of their populations that was subjected to slavery, “Jim Crow” laws, post-“Jim Crow” discrimination, etc.?

12. Are there any items on Rabbi Van Lanckton’s “wish list” of 16 (please see viewtopic.php?f=742&t=2343&sid=99333e2f ... 7314118795) that would be permitted by the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court opinion in New York Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen (please see Q-5 above) and are NOT included in the “Safer Communities Act of 2022”?

13. BTW, isn’t Rabbi Van Lanckton’s Wish No.3 to raise the minimum age to buy a gun misleading because even before the “Safer Communities Act of 2022,” the federal-law minimum age to buy a handgun was 21?

14. And BTW, do Rabbi Van Lanckton’s Wishes No. 4 and No. 5 (re red flag laws & no-fly lists) flirt with the Kavanaugh/Roberts NY vs. Bruen rule requiring objectivity rather than subjectivity? Would it be worth the attempt by gun-control advocates to determine whether Kavanaugh/Roberts think (A) whether having been “red flagged” or being on a “no-fly list” is objective, or (B) whether the process of being “red flagged” or being put on a “no-fly list” is subjective?

15. And really “getting into the weeds,” does Rabbi Van Lanckton’s Wish No. 10 requiring gun owners to keep the gun locked in a secure location and ammunition for the gun locked in a different secure location violate the Revolutionary War “Minute Man” test of whether a homeowner would be able to unlock the gun, unlock the ammunition, load the gun and be ready to defend one’s self and home WITHIN ONE MINUTE?

16. Does anyone have any other comments re gun safety?