Will DC Appeal Parker Case to the Supreme Court?

By |2023-05-20T09:39:14-04:00May 17th, 2007|

I am beginning to think it is quite possible that DC will not appeal the ruling of the DC Circuit Court of Appeals in the Parker case. That historic ruling concluded that the Second Amendment really does protect an individual’s right to keep and bear arms and struck down the DC gun control laws as a result.

DC may instead pass a new gun control law that is still quite severe but does not as thoroughly prohibit any right to gun ownership and use in self defense as the old law did. They would argue that this new law meets the requirements of the Parker […]

Disrespect for Law Doesn't Always Stop Where You Think It Will

By |2023-05-20T09:39:15-04:00May 16th, 2007|

A Reuters article published yesterday (“Workers sue U.S. factory after immigration raid”) reports that several hundred illegal immigrant workers at a plant south of Boston have sued the company for cheating them on their wages. The article portrays the illegal immigrants as victims — of the government’s raid, and of factory management’s greed — but there is a different way to look at it.

About a month ago, I wrote in this space that the foremost reason to oppose “sanctuary cities” and their indulgence of illegal immigration is that these things sow disrespect for the rule of law:

“If elected officials pretending to be […]

Local Front in Battle to Restore Rule of Law for Immigration Receives Bipartisan Boost

By |2023-05-20T09:39:15-04:00May 16th, 2007|

Who says standing against illegal immigration and the consequences thereof is a political loser?

The ACRU has been fighting in support of the mayor of Hazelton, PA and his effort to crack down on landlords and employers who create the demand for and perpetuate the problem of illegal immigration, and the criminological ills and financial burdens that come with it, in his town and similar municipalities across America. Our own John Armor has described the issue very well in his article, “The Hazelton Rebellion.”

Predictably, the ACLU has lined up on behalf of those who break our laws and against the democratic rule […]

The ACLU Takes on James Madison and the Founders on School Prayer

By |2023-05-20T09:39:16-04:00May 15th, 2007|

When James Madison penned the Bill of Rights in 1789, surely the idea of blocking local school children in Monroe, LA in 2007 from solemnizing their graduation ceremony with prayer was his intent, right? After all, he objected to official prayers, Thanksgiving proclamations to God, congressional chaplains, and worship meetings held in federal buildings while in the first congresses under the new Constitution, didn’t he?

Well, no.

In fact, when Madison’s good friend Thomas Jefferson – no Christian he, and often cited for support from those seeking a radical “wall of separation” between government and all things religious – did things that would […]

Let the People Decide, as Long as They Wear Black Robes

By |2023-05-20T09:39:16-04:00May 14th, 2007|

John Armor notes that a pro-illegal immigrant group which opposed the Hazelton-style ordinance adopted in Texas (by a vote of better than two-to-one) called itself, “Let the People Decide.” Not to miss a beat, this same group is now going to court, presumably under the motto, “Let the Judges Undecide.” The irony here parallels what the anti-war press has been trying to hang around the President’s neck when he spoke several years ago on a destroyer donning a huge, “Mission Accomplished” sign. If you think the press is going to cover the Texas “vote-then-sue” story with anything like the zeal it covered, and continues […]

'Let the People Decide Illegal Immigration!' (Or Maybe Not)

By |2023-05-20T09:39:16-04:00May 14th, 2007|

One of the slogans of the opponents of the Farmers Branch immigration ordinances, was “Let the people vote.” (See “Anti-Illegal-Immigrant Law OK’d in Texas.”) Now, the people HAVE voted, 68-32, to approve the ordinances designed to discourage illegal immigrants in their town. So, the opponents are going to court to have an unelected judge tell the people and the town they have no right to make this decision.

In short, the ACLU and its allies are attacking the basic right of all Americans, to govern themselves under a “republican” government, which in accord with the constitutional guarantee means government by elected representatives. This subject will […]

Hate Crimes: 'Solving' a Non-Existent Problem

By |2023-05-20T09:39:17-04:00May 11th, 2007|

The House of Representatives has just passed a federal bill on “hate crimes,” which seems headed for a White House veto, if it manages to pass the Senate. This has heightened attention to the half of the several states which also have “hate crime” laws.

There are only two things wrong with the state laws: they are useless and arbitrary. There is a third problem with the federal version. It violates the Constitution.

Every “hate crime” law is based on the commission of an ordinary crime. Attacking, harming, or killing any citizen IS a crime to begin with. Damaging someone’s property, whether burning a cross […]

A Study of Neighbors: Is It Safer to Live Where Handguns are Banned or Allowed?

By |2023-05-20T09:39:17-04:00May 8th, 2007|

Building on my last post (“Harvard Study: Gun Control Is Counterproductive”) – I thought it would be instructive to look at one particular table from the aforementioned study published in Spring 2007 in the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, Volume 30, Number 2:

The table above is taken from page 664 of the issue. It compares the murder rates of various European countries that have banned handguns with those of their neighbors. More significantly, it indicated whether or not handguns are similarly banned in the neighboring countries.

In every case – much like the difference between the state of Virginia, […]

Harvard Study: Gun Control Is Counterproductive

By |2023-05-20T09:39:17-04:00May 8th, 2007|

I’ve just learned that Washington, D.C.’s petition for a rehearing of the Parker case in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit was denied today. This is good news. Readers will recall in this case that the D.C. Circuit overturned the decades-long ban on gun ownership in the nation’s capitol on Second Amendment grounds.

However, as my colleague Peter Ferrara explained in his National Review Online article following the initial decision in March, it looks very likely that the United States Supreme Court will take the case on appeal. When it does so – beyond seriously considering the clear original intent of […]

Re: Gun Rights, Friends Are Found In Unlikely Places

By |2023-05-20T09:39:18-04:00May 7th, 2007|

In today’s America, the United States Constitution is too often treated like the Queen of England – a powerless and non-binding relic of an earlier age. And just as Queen Elizabeth is in the States this week leading up to the 400th anniversary celebration of the settlement of Jamestown colony, the Constitution will occasion the obligatory nod from time to time.

But the Constitution is not like the monarchy, which long ago gave up all real authority. The Constitution, along with its Bill of Rights and other Amendments, remains in effect. Not that you would know that by the way our government leaders […]

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