Duke Junior
member
Tyrannies will be avoided only with respect for all rights
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-5tyrannies.6571190sep07,0,3445869.column
Paul Carpenter
September 7, 2008
This morning, as you are walking up the steps to your church, a squad of Allentown police officers will besiege you, grab your Bible and tell you that some of the beliefs of this church are adverse to good order.
The officers say a neighbor complained about you going to this church, but they won't charge you with a crime and will return your Bible in a day or two.
Sound a bit far-fetched? In principle, it is not. The same Bill of Rights that prevents government authorities from telling you which church to attend places equal emphasis on preventing those authorities from violating other rights.
Authorities, however, know they can get away with violating the supreme law of the land in one case but not in another, depending on what is politically popular at the moment.
Even religion can be a problem in today's climate. A Schuylkill County commercial pilot (and Gulf War veteran) was grounded when put on a secret government watch list, apparently because he's a Muslim.
We avoid such tyrannies only by insisting that all rights are sacred, and that the insatiable hunger for power and control by government authorities is not.
Last Sunday, I discussed the case of an Allentown man whom police went after because a neighbor told them he was armed. He had a license to carry the gun and did nothing illegal, but the police stole the gun (they call it ''seizure'') and did not return it until the following day.
The police justified their actions on the basis of a bogus 1962 city ordinance that says the Bill of Rights does not matter, nor does the Pennsylvania Constitution, which says the right of citizens ''to bear arms in defense of themselves ... shall not be questioned.'' The police also defied a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said they cannot enforce gun controls that violate the Bill of Rights.
''We usually enforce the 'discharges' section'' of the 1962 law, said Police Chief Roger McLean. (The law says nobody can ''carry or discharge'' any weapon in the city and I have no quarrel with the discharge part, except that it should specify you can fire a gun if it's necessary for self-defense.)
''If we get a call about a man with a weapon, we respond,'' MacLean said. ''I'm a firm believer in constitutional rights ... but when we get a call we
have to investigate.'' As I noted last Sunday, however, he agreed that the 1962 law ''needs to be looked at.''
City solicitor Jerry Snyder did not get back to me on this, so I checked with Lehigh County District Attorney James Martin.
''State law preempts it [the ordinance],'' Martin said, referring to a separate law, apart from the constitution, that prohibits municipalities from enacting any gun control measures.
How, I asked, would the DA's office prosecute somebody charged with violating Allentown's ordinance?
''Well, we wouldn't,'' he said. ''I think it's an unconstitutional ordinance.''
I told Martin the police seized the man's gun.
''They shouldn't have taken it,'' he said.
So what recourse do citizens have if the police do something like that?
''Sue the police,'' Martin said. (Martin is not shy about talking bluntly about police wrongdoing, as he did years ago in kicking up a fuss over illegal actions under a former police chief, the awful Stephen Kuhn.)
When it comes to rights, gun control is a difficult topic. Sheep want only government authorities to be armed, to deal with rampaging crime, and self-defense is a dirty word.
Apart from sex crimes, however, nearly all crime today is caused by government, as was the case from 1919 to 1933, when criminals and authorities prospered from Prohibition I.
Prohibition II (drugs other than alcohol) has had the identical result.
I do not favor legalization of recreational drugs, but decriminalization of possession and other steps could reduce the profits and turf wars -- along with the dependence on law enforcement, hence the crusade by law enforcement people to keep things as they are.
If you support the
sanctity of all rights , or if you favor self-defense by anybody outside government, you jeopardize that crusade.
[email protected] 610-820-6176
Paul Carpenter's commentary appears Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-5tyrannies.6571190sep07,0,3445869.column
Paul Carpenter
September 7, 2008
This morning, as you are walking up the steps to your church, a squad of Allentown police officers will besiege you, grab your Bible and tell you that some of the beliefs of this church are adverse to good order.
The officers say a neighbor complained about you going to this church, but they won't charge you with a crime and will return your Bible in a day or two.
Sound a bit far-fetched? In principle, it is not. The same Bill of Rights that prevents government authorities from telling you which church to attend places equal emphasis on preventing those authorities from violating other rights.
Authorities, however, know they can get away with violating the supreme law of the land in one case but not in another, depending on what is politically popular at the moment.
Even religion can be a problem in today's climate. A Schuylkill County commercial pilot (and Gulf War veteran) was grounded when put on a secret government watch list, apparently because he's a Muslim.
We avoid such tyrannies only by insisting that all rights are sacred, and that the insatiable hunger for power and control by government authorities is not.
Last Sunday, I discussed the case of an Allentown man whom police went after because a neighbor told them he was armed. He had a license to carry the gun and did nothing illegal, but the police stole the gun (they call it ''seizure'') and did not return it until the following day.
The police justified their actions on the basis of a bogus 1962 city ordinance that says the Bill of Rights does not matter, nor does the Pennsylvania Constitution, which says the right of citizens ''to bear arms in defense of themselves ... shall not be questioned.'' The police also defied a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said they cannot enforce gun controls that violate the Bill of Rights.
''We usually enforce the 'discharges' section'' of the 1962 law, said Police Chief Roger McLean. (The law says nobody can ''carry or discharge'' any weapon in the city and I have no quarrel with the discharge part, except that it should specify you can fire a gun if it's necessary for self-defense.)
''If we get a call about a man with a weapon, we respond,'' MacLean said. ''I'm a firm believer in constitutional rights ... but when we get a call we
have to investigate.'' As I noted last Sunday, however, he agreed that the 1962 law ''needs to be looked at.''
City solicitor Jerry Snyder did not get back to me on this, so I checked with Lehigh County District Attorney James Martin.
''State law preempts it [the ordinance],'' Martin said, referring to a separate law, apart from the constitution, that prohibits municipalities from enacting any gun control measures.
How, I asked, would the DA's office prosecute somebody charged with violating Allentown's ordinance?
''Well, we wouldn't,'' he said. ''I think it's an unconstitutional ordinance.''
I told Martin the police seized the man's gun.
''They shouldn't have taken it,'' he said.
So what recourse do citizens have if the police do something like that?
''Sue the police,'' Martin said. (Martin is not shy about talking bluntly about police wrongdoing, as he did years ago in kicking up a fuss over illegal actions under a former police chief, the awful Stephen Kuhn.)
When it comes to rights, gun control is a difficult topic. Sheep want only government authorities to be armed, to deal with rampaging crime, and self-defense is a dirty word.
Apart from sex crimes, however, nearly all crime today is caused by government, as was the case from 1919 to 1933, when criminals and authorities prospered from Prohibition I.
Prohibition II (drugs other than alcohol) has had the identical result.
I do not favor legalization of recreational drugs, but decriminalization of possession and other steps could reduce the profits and turf wars -- along with the dependence on law enforcement, hence the crusade by law enforcement people to keep things as they are.
If you support the
sanctity of all rights , or if you favor self-defense by anybody outside government, you jeopardize that crusade.
[email protected] 610-820-6176
Paul Carpenter's commentary appears Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
I wonder how long they will let him keep his job? In fact, I wonder how the article got into the paper in the first place!
