Comment Re:Sudden outbreak of common sense (Score 2) 276
So, your belief is that the Bill of Rights is a list of rights granted to the people by the government? What does the preamble say to you?
The reason I left the "right to bear arms" in there is because of the structure of the sentence that says, "the right of the people...". I could have also listed just the, "shall not be infringed" part and retained the meaning.
Perhaps you would be so kind as to explain how the U.S. Constitution is constructed from your perspective and how the language used in the Preamble to the Bill of Rights, the 9th and 10th amendments and the other articles of the Constitution reconcile with its purpose.
There's no doubt the U.S. Constitution has been hijacked by the national government. This was enabled by a re-definition of "commerce" in the 1930s. A really good example of how the Constitution was viewed before this re-definition is the language used in the 18th amendment creating prohibition.
Section 1. After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all the territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.
Section 2. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.
Notice that the people, through the states, are granting a brand new power to the national government. The states were very careful in how they granted this new power to the government.
Now compare that amendment to the proposed equal rights amendment:
Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification
This amendment is restricting the power of the national government and the states. Those restrictions already existed. The language, on the other hand, shows the, in my opinion, disastrous evolution of thought from limited government with power coming from the people to one where the national government is strong and grants or denies rights to the people.