Isn't it funny that a natural human right, god-given to man as his inalienable inheritance, can hang by one vote "and this 2012 election could break the back of it one way or the other?"The chief executive officer of the National Rifle Association said in a talk here today he worries about the future of gun rights if President Obama is re elected and makes more nominations to the U.S. Supreme Court. "I believe that the Second Amendment hangs by one vote, and this 2012 election could break the back of it one way or the other," said Wayne LaPierre, the association's CEO and executive vice president, in a packed room at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service.
I agree about the "hanging by one vote," but that would mean that the "inalienable, god-given and natural human" part is bullshit. What do you think?
Please leave a comment.
The inalienable, god given right part IS bull shit.
ReplyDeleteThere have been plenty of governments that have trampled on the God given rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Just because some government's don't acknowledge these rights does not mean they do not exist.
ReplyDeleteFor instance, for several hundred years, slavery was accepted even though it obviously suppressed the God given rights of the slaves. The slaves still had those rights, but were powerless to exercise them.
I think it's a straw man argument just like abortion. I personally have not heard of anyone currently in power attempting to overturn Roe v. Wade or repeal the second amendment. It's a dog whistle. Wedge issue.
ReplyDeleteJim wrote:
ReplyDelete"For instance, for several hundred years, slavery was accepted even though it obviously suppressed the God given rights of the slaves. The slaves still had those rights, but were powerless to exercise them."
And yet it is predominantly the Christian fundies who assert God given rights - and the Bible does in fact favor slave owning.
Which leaves us with the inevitable conclusion that religion has nothing to do with our rights, and that people can clearly be wrong about what those rights are, or should be.
There is NO god given right to own weapons that hurt other people.
Quoting Rabbi M.J. Raphall, circa 1861:
ReplyDelete"Receiving slavery as one of the conditions of society, the New Testament nowhere interferes with or contradicts the slave code of Moses; it even preserves a letter [to Philemon] written by one of the most eminent Christian teachers [Paul] to a slave owner on sending back to him his runaway slave." 1
Matthew 18:25: "But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made."
What we call rights are concepts that we evolve among ourselves by consensus. They are not innate, they are not god given; we agree on them ourselves.
They are not unlimited. They exist both for the benefit of the individual, and for the benefit of us individuals as a group.
To the extent that a practice damages individuals and groups - as guns do, and clearly do less so when heavily regulated - that is a perfectly reasonable right to be limited. At some point it might even be a right, as slavery was at one time, which we agree to abolish.
The religious ignorance that is used to justify pro life and pro gun positions disgusts me.
So please dear gun owners, don't let this charlatan or any other nut case proclaiming that "Obama wants to take away your guns!" stand in the way of your supporting our wonderful president in his bid for reelection.
ReplyDeleteIf whoever runs against Obama has a better Second Amendment record than Obama (which is just about any of the GOP front runners), then I am voting for them.
ReplyDeleteIf the GOP manages to nominate someone with a worse Second Amendment record than Obama (pretty hard to do unless they reanimate the corpse of Pol Pot), then I will hold my nose and vote for our current Socialist and Chief.
AztecRed, I guess you're what they call a one-issue voter. Don't you think that's kinda narrow-minded given the problems we have with 3 wars, the economy and the wall-street gangsters trying to take over the world?
ReplyDeleteI was glad to hear Old Wayne admit that the one-vote difference on the Supreme Court is what's keeping them together. Now that he's said it, the rest of the unthinking gun extremists will admit it. This should really make it interesting if Obama is re-elected.
I'm going to stick with Jefferson on this one.
ReplyDeleteWe hold these truths to be self evident...
I give you credit for stating up front that you reject the founding principles of the USA. At least it's honest.
And it explains very neatly why you are losing this argument. You speak the english language but you don't speak American.
Anonymous, You sound like such a one-trick pony that you can't see past the gun rights you hold so dear.
ReplyDeleteI don't reject ALL the founding principles of the USA. Mainly what I reject is the idea that the right to self-defense is the same as the right to own a gun.