Second Amendment in the crosshairs

As one who plans on pursuing a seat for the U.S. Congress in the 2010 elections, I would like to alert Nevadans about the dangers of H.R. 2159 and H.R. 2401, as well as go on the record with my unequivocal opposition to these bills.  Although H.R. 2401 is easier to understand, on a peripheral note I would like to point out that - like the USA PATRIOT Act - these bills are not designed to be read like reading a book.  In order to read these pieces of legislation - as is the case with most pieces of legislation - you must juxtapose the bills with a copy of Black's Law Dictionary and the U.S. Code. 

On the surface, the bills sound good.  Who could disagree with keeping firearms out of the hands of terrorists?   But there are a plurality of problems with legislation designed to summarily revoke particular rights.  H.R. 2401  merges the "No-Fly" list with a "No-Gun-Buy" list.  I am going to cover a few points and present a few questions which we should all reflect on.  The danger of the government running contra-legem lists, used to deprive people of their rights, is something that should have been considered - as I did - before things like the "No-Fly" list were created in the first place.

1) The "No-Fly" list was established to supposedly prevent terrorists from boarding flights.  Sounded great.  But then we found out that people such as Senator Ted Kennedy and Congressman John Lewis both ended up on the list, as well as over 700,000 other names.  This shouldn't have surprised anybody.  Why would known or suspected terrorists be told that they can't board flights?  Shouldn't a known or suspected terrorist be apprehended?  It is self-evident that the "No-Fly" list was never intended for real terrorists, but for political opponents, people who are delinquent on taxes, and so forth. The "No-Fly" list is nothing but travel restrictions aimed at the American people. Travel restrictions are the hallmark of repressive regimes. When I was growing up during the 1980s, I remember how we were taught about how bad the Soviet government was, because Soviet citizens weren't allowed to travel freely like we could in the free Western world. So much for that.

2) There have been a plurality of government reports that have been leaked that amalgamated peaceful political views with the profile of a potential terrorist.  H.R. 2159 gives the Attorney General the power to arbitrarily revoke the Second Amendment rights of somebody who is suspected as having the potential to engage in terrorism.  Pursuant to the language used, this means the pool of suspects consists of the entire U.S. population.

3) Does the government have the power to arbitrarily confiscate the "Second Amendment rights" of non-Americans, i.e., people who aren't even citizens of this Constitutional republic, and thus never had the right to begin with?  How can this legislation be aimed at anybody other than Americans?  This kind of legislation deprives people of their rights without due process of law. 

4) If we are to take these "no-this" and "no-that" lists to their logical conclusion, why not create one for every activity? Obviously, a terrorist shouldn't be on a plane, nor buying a gun. But should a terrorist be out shopping at Macy's? Or schmoozing it up at the local pub? Or watching television? Or on the internet? Need I take this reductio ad absurdum any farther? If somebody is a terrorist, their right to buy guns and travel freely can be, and should already be, eliminated by bringing that person to justice.  This legislation is not only not necessary, but dangerous.  Not only should the "No-Fly" list not be expanded to cover gun purchases, it should be eliminated altogether, since the contra-legem imposition of travel restrictions is just as dangerous.

5) If gun bans could prevent terrorists from obtaining the tools of their "trade," why not impose a complete gun ban? Obviously, that is silly. Just as common criminals continue to get guns, terrorists will continue to get [guns?] RPGs and so forth. In fact, the best way to prevent terrorism is to guarantee Second Amendment rights of Americans. A disarmed population is the most vulnerable.

See the video of then-Congressman Rahm Emanuel expressing support for expanding the "No-Fly" list into a "No-Gun-Buy" list: