Sandy Hook Commission Gun Ban Ignores Constitution
Investment Business Daily Editorial: Second Amendment: The Sandy Hook Advisory Commission, formed in the wake of the school shooting tragedy in the Connecticut town, wants restrictive gun laws that do nothing and are in fact unconstitutional.
At Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14, 2012, 27-year-old teacher Victoria Soto bravely hid students in a restroom or closet, then died trying to protect them from shooter Adam Lanza. If she, the principal or any of the other adults in the school had access to a firearm, things might have turned out differently. As it was, 20 students and six teachers were killed that day.
The lesson of the folly of gun-free zones, where only predators are armed as they hunt down their victims, is one that repeatedly is lost on gun-control advocates. They simply ignore the lives saved when armed citizens can fire back in self-defense. From Virginia Tech to a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., to the school in Newtown, mass shootings are often in venues declaring themselves gun-free zones.
Before the Newtown shooting, a gunman walked into a shopping mall on Dec. 11, 2012, in Clackamas, Ore., with the intention of killing as many as possible. He managed to kill two before being confronted by Nick Meli, an armed citizen with a concealed-carry permit who refused to be a victim. Meli prevented another mass tragedy and saved countless lives.
Gun-control advocates conveniently forget that the Aurora shooter had a choice of seven movie theaters within a 20-mile drive of his home that were showing the "Batman" movie he was obsessed with. The Cinemark Theater he chose wasn't the closest, but it was the only one that banned customers from carrying their guns inside, otherwise allowed under Colorado law.
Undaunted by such evidence that guns save lives, Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy's Sandy Hook Advisory Commission agreed Friday to include in its final report a recommendation that the state ban the sale and possession of any gun that can fire more than 10 rounds without reloading, notwithstanding the fact that the Second Amendment does not come with an asterisk.
How this would have prevented the tragedy at Sandy Hook was not exactly explained by the commission. Limiting the size of gun magazines is not effective, since a predator who has already decided to break the law and kill will either disregard that law as well, or simply carry more clips.
Nor was it explained how this would pass constitutional muster. But commission members did not care.
"Whether or not this law would stand the test of constitutionality is not for this commission to decide," said former Hartford Police Chief Bernard Sullivan. "The commission has expressed very strongly that this is a statement that is needed regarding the lethality of weapons."
This gun ban and magazine restrictions would be on top of a 2013 Connecticut law that prohibits guns defined as "assault weapons" based largely on how scary their appearance is, and ammunition magazines defined as "large capacity" even though the guns fire only a single time with each trigger pull.
Connecticut, ironically also known as the "Constitution State," is shredding the Second Amendment right to bear arms. Criminals do not register their weapons and people willing to commit murder are not deterred by gun-registration requirements or magazine limitations.
The answer to mass shootings is not found in assault-weapons bans or bureaucratic paperwork. Nor is it built on laws that make felons out of otherwise law-abiding citizens who are merely trying to exercise their constitutional rights to keep and bear arms in defense of themselves, their families and their Constitution.
Tags: Investment Business Daily, editorial, Sandy Hook Commission, gun ban, Constitution, 2nd Amendment, guns save lives To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
At Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14, 2012, 27-year-old teacher Victoria Soto bravely hid students in a restroom or closet, then died trying to protect them from shooter Adam Lanza. If she, the principal or any of the other adults in the school had access to a firearm, things might have turned out differently. As it was, 20 students and six teachers were killed that day.
The lesson of the folly of gun-free zones, where only predators are armed as they hunt down their victims, is one that repeatedly is lost on gun-control advocates. They simply ignore the lives saved when armed citizens can fire back in self-defense. From Virginia Tech to a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., to the school in Newtown, mass shootings are often in venues declaring themselves gun-free zones.
Before the Newtown shooting, a gunman walked into a shopping mall on Dec. 11, 2012, in Clackamas, Ore., with the intention of killing as many as possible. He managed to kill two before being confronted by Nick Meli, an armed citizen with a concealed-carry permit who refused to be a victim. Meli prevented another mass tragedy and saved countless lives.
Gun-control advocates conveniently forget that the Aurora shooter had a choice of seven movie theaters within a 20-mile drive of his home that were showing the "Batman" movie he was obsessed with. The Cinemark Theater he chose wasn't the closest, but it was the only one that banned customers from carrying their guns inside, otherwise allowed under Colorado law.
Undaunted by such evidence that guns save lives, Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy's Sandy Hook Advisory Commission agreed Friday to include in its final report a recommendation that the state ban the sale and possession of any gun that can fire more than 10 rounds without reloading, notwithstanding the fact that the Second Amendment does not come with an asterisk.
How this would have prevented the tragedy at Sandy Hook was not exactly explained by the commission. Limiting the size of gun magazines is not effective, since a predator who has already decided to break the law and kill will either disregard that law as well, or simply carry more clips.
Nor was it explained how this would pass constitutional muster. But commission members did not care.
"Whether or not this law would stand the test of constitutionality is not for this commission to decide," said former Hartford Police Chief Bernard Sullivan. "The commission has expressed very strongly that this is a statement that is needed regarding the lethality of weapons."
This gun ban and magazine restrictions would be on top of a 2013 Connecticut law that prohibits guns defined as "assault weapons" based largely on how scary their appearance is, and ammunition magazines defined as "large capacity" even though the guns fire only a single time with each trigger pull.
Connecticut, ironically also known as the "Constitution State," is shredding the Second Amendment right to bear arms. Criminals do not register their weapons and people willing to commit murder are not deterred by gun-registration requirements or magazine limitations.
The answer to mass shootings is not found in assault-weapons bans or bureaucratic paperwork. Nor is it built on laws that make felons out of otherwise law-abiding citizens who are merely trying to exercise their constitutional rights to keep and bear arms in defense of themselves, their families and their Constitution.
Tags: Investment Business Daily, editorial, Sandy Hook Commission, gun ban, Constitution, 2nd Amendment, guns save lives To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
1 Comments:
So does the president...
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