Burt Newman, formerly General Counsel for the ACLU and adjunct professor a Washington University, addressed the West County Democrats with his presentation- The NRA’s Fraud: Fabrication of Second Amendment Rights. A practicing attorney for 45 years and lead on the 2004 Missouri vs Supreme Court challenge to conceal and carry laws, Mr. Newman has been a tireless advocate for safer gun laws. He shared with us today, his perspective on the National Rifle Association’s continued campaign to mislead us all. This article is a synopsis of his comments.
The complete text of the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America reads:
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.
In response to Federal legislative attempts that began in the late 1960s to better manage gun sales and transportation across state borders, the NRA began a manufacturer-funded lobbying and propaganda campaign to strip restrictions, block regulation and reinterpret the Second Amendment. This effort has led to many gun advocates today believing, incorrectly, that the Second Amendment reads:
The right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Former Chief Justice Warren Burger commented that this interpretation of the Second Amendment “has been the subject of one of the greatest pieces of fraud, I repeat the word fraud, on the American public.” and further clarified that the “right to bear arms” is a right of the states or state militias like the National Guard, not of individuals.
A bit of history: The Second Amendment was ratified and became a part of the U.S. Constitution in 1791 and its meaning remained intact (interpreted as understood by Burger) for over 200 years. In 2008, the Supreme Court ruled on DC v Heller. In the Heller decision, the Supreme Court confirmed the “individual’s right to possess a firearm for private matters and use within the home.” Note the very limited scope of the Heller decision.
Since then, the NRA-promoted interpretation of the second amendment has been has been expanded even further by state legislation (challenges yet to be accepted by the Supreme Court for consideration) allowing permit-less concealed or open carry and a spate of stand-your-ground laws that has led to the nation-wide chaos and unfettered gun violence we are now experiencing. While this has all been very profitable for the gun manufacturers, the NRA (and complicit legislators) have blood on their hands.
So, what do we do now?
Mr. Newman’s recommendation is that we treat this commercial attack on our Constitution as we did with the tobacco industry– Change the mindset on guns to a very narrow view, consistent with at least the limited personal use interpretation of the Heller decision. We do that by challenging 5 friends to speak out and challenge 5 of their friends to do the same, until we have an overwhelming voice of reason in our country.
- Write and otherwise communicate with your legislators, your community, your friends and family about the NRA propaganda campaign that is harming citizens of the United States of America.
- Vote for candidates who oppose gun violence and are willing to advocate for common sense regulations to curb the proliferation of violence in our communities.
How bad has it gotten? Since 1968, twice as many Americans have been killed by guns on U.S. soil than all American soldiers killed in all foreign wars.
If we all work together on this, we can change the ‘guns everywhere’ mentality by challenging our friends and family to help spread the word about the truth of the second amendment.
— Mark Toenjes, WCD Member
Legislative Report
September 9, 2019
Federal Items:
Congress faces major public outcry to address gun violence: the Senate will refuse to act.
Mitch McConnell is also expected to not act on many other major issues, ignoring legislation passed months ago by the House of Representatives. He has stated that he will not push any measure unless President Donald Trump has agreed to sign it.
The inaction – and the growing prospects of a continued Democrat majority in the House and a slim Democratic majority in the Senate in 2021 – is persuading many veteran GOP lawmakers to hang-up their spurs. Being in the ‘minority’ is worse than being forced to do Donald Trump’s bidding.
The President, meanwhile, rules more like a despot than the leader of a co-equal branch of government. For example, Trump has confiscated defense funds (including money earmarked for West Point and the repair of military bases in Puerto Rico) to build “The Wall.” Trump’s administration is systematically dismantling many government agencies. From killing Obama’s move towards more efficient light bulbs and weakening EPA toxicity standards to bureaucratic changes to force millions off food stamps and reduce the typical benefit, administrative actions never help everyday Americans.
And, a very significant number of senior department positions are held by “Acting” (not confirmed by Senate) secretaries and directors. This is very unusual.
State Items:
This week the Missouri Legislature will meet for its required Veto Session: none of Governor Mike Parson’s handful of vetoes will be challenged.
Ironically, the governor has called an extraordinary (or, special) session to run concurrently. The sole topic? Passing a law to undo a June Missouri Supreme Court decision upholding a Department of revenue ruling that only one trade-in vehicle can be counted to reduce sales tax on a new vehicle. (This occurs in about 1of 950 transactions.)
The governor refused to have the legislature consider bills to curtail gun violence, solve funding shortfalls in education (especially bus transport costs), maintain roads, mandate vote protection, or, any one of several score of critical issues.
Don’t worry: legislators will stay busy. The Veto Session is a great time to host a fundraiser in Jefferson City. Adding the special session guarantees more time slots for legislators to collect checks.
The latest General Revenue Report, for August, shows a mild increase in state receipts. Unfortunately, the long-term trend still points to a very weak state economy. Especially troublesome is little growth in income tax revenue. (Income taxes account for 70% of all Missouri General Revenue.) I am among those who feels that Missouri is already in a mild Recession.
— Glenn Koenen, WCD