Democratic politicians regularly pronounce, “I support the Second Amendment but….” Whether it’s Hillary Clinton or some local candidate positioning themselves to gain or maintain political power, the “but” is followed by the euphemism-du-jour for violating the Constitution’s clear prohibition against infringement on Americans’ right to keep and bear arms. At the moment, it’s “common sense gun safety” legislation.
It’s not an unsuccessful ploy. Many, maybe even most Americans don’t know what the U.S. Constitution is, never mind the text or meaning of the Second Amendment. Or any Amendment, including the Bill of Rights. Or the Constitution’s role within our three-part system of government.
How could they? Setting aside questions about the efficacy, accuracy or political bias of public school civics education, our good friends at huffingtonpost.com report that some 32 million American adults can’t read, while 21 percent of those that can read do so below a fifth grade level.
Chances are they’ve never read the Second Amendment. Contemplate its meaning and import? As the Brits say, you must be joking, mate. So, without much ado about something, here’s the current draft of the Democratic Party Platform 2016:
Judges
We will appoint judges who defend the constitutional principles of liberty and equality for all, protect a woman’s right to safe and legal abortion, curb billionaires’ influence over elections because they understand that Citizens United has fundamentally damaged our democracy, and see the Constitution as a blueprint for progress.
See what the Dems did there? They defend “constitutional principles” and then declare that the Constitution is more like a guideline than a set of rules. In other words, “we support the Constitution, but…we’re not really bound by it.” Which is another way of saying “Take your Constitution and shove it.”
Make no mistake: any government that violates your natural, civil and Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms — clearly enumerated by the Second Amendment and incorporated by the Supreme Court’s McDonald v. City of Chicago decision — will happily trample on your other rights as well.
Which would be your government. All current firearms laws restricting the keeping and bearing of arms — from background checks to magazine capacity restrictions to the general ban on modern machine guns — are unconstitutional.
That means that any political party or politician intent on maintaining or increasing those laws is no friend of the Constitution. Or, indeed, all the individual liberties it protects. Every. Single. One.
The Democrats will approve their party platform later today. Click here to live stream that blessed event.