January 30, 2008
Disarming Veterans/Gun Control
| Host: | Vic Eliason |
| Guest: | Larry Pratt |
| Listen: | RealAudio | Windows Media | MP3 | Order Tape or CD |
Larry Pratt is the Executive Director of Gun Owners of America.
According to Larry, the Bush administration has paid attention to a case that's going to be heard before the Supreme Court in March. The case has come up from the D.C. Court of Appeals which overturned the gun ban in the District of Columbia saying that it violated the individual right to keep and bear arms and therefore was unconstitutional.
The Bush Administration believes the Second Amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms but now they say they have to consider what level of scrutiny the amendment should be subjected to. Larry says "level of scrutiny" is lawyer talk for how much of an unconstitutional license the courts should have so that they can be writing laws as if they were the continuation of the constitutional convention.
This can be seen in the brief that the administration has filed in this case. Larry noted that the administration feels that any federal court that finds it reasonable to ban any gun should be allowed to do so.
Also discussed was the Veterans Disarmament Act. This act says that you can lose your right to keep and bear arms without going through a court procedure to determine whether or not you have been convicted of a violent crime or perhaps found to be mentally unstable to the point of being a danger to yourself or others.
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