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Earlier this summer in a landmark case "Heller v D.C." the Supreme Court of the United States delivered an opinion that the Second Amendment is indeed an individual right of law abiding citizens to keep and bear arms without being a member of a militia. It was not a unanimous decision and the Court did qualify its decision saying that the right is not absolute and is subject to limited reasonable regulation.
The Court left intact prohibitions against gun ownership of firearms by convicted felons or those persons deemed mentally unfit. The Court also confirmed that concealed carry licensing laws are not unconstitutional and that banning certain "dangerous and unusual" firearms could be permitted. They did not define what "dangerous and unusual" means which will encourage the anti gun industry to continue to push for bans on many common types of firearms.
Although this opinion is a great victory for freedom and confirms what we have always known to be true, it doesn't necessarily make our job of protecting our rights any easier. The New York Assembly will continue to pass their slate of anti gun rights bills and if the Senate should be taken over by the Democrat Party, you can rest assured that they will follow suit in passing those bills. Will our Democrat Governor Paterson sign those bills in to law? Who knows?
If those bills were to become law in New York, certainly some could be considered as being contrary to Heller but it would take legal action against the state in court to overturn those laws. Such action would be very expensive and take many years.
As you can see our battle is not won, our job is not done and as
the saying goes, the fat lady has not sung. It is up to us to not let our guard
down,
to not let up on our elected officials in voicing our opinions; in fact we
need to be even more vocal in our opposition to those who would take our rights
away.
With elections around the corner you must press the candidates on our issues
whether they are an incumbent or a newcomer. Don't let them dance around
giving an answer to your questions, press them for an answer. Make sure they
know where you stand on your right to keep and bear arms.
Now is not the time to let up, keep the pressure on and we can win.
Ken Mathison, President
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