Awhile back I sent off a letter to Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, questioning some things he said in regards to the Second Amendment. I really didn’t expect a reply, and told him as much in my letter. However, much to my surprise, last week I received not only a reply, but the two thick documents, the two cases of D.C. v Heller, and McDonald et al v City of Chicago, both cases in which the court had ruled upon issues pertaining to the Second Amendment.

I took these court rulings to work and the typical response was that they were just too lengthy to be read. Yet I find them fascinating. I not only learn from them, but they also give me a glimpse into the minds of the men whose decisions can either lead to the infringement of my rights, or, at the least, set precedents which could lead to more of my rights being infringed upon.

It amazes me that people can spend hour after hour glued to their television, yet not take an hour or two a week to delve into the beliefs held by those men who created our unique system of government.

So, as I was reading through the first case, D.C. v Heller, highlighting quotes and references as I went, I came across a quote that I would like to share with you.

The majority held that, “In interpreting this text, we are guided by the principle that “[t]he Constitution was written to be understood by the voters, its words and phrases were used in their normal and ordinary as distinguished from technical meaning.” United States v Sprauge, 280 U.S. 716, 731 (1931)”

Our system of government was designed so that we the people could keep an eye on those who represent us, and vote them out of office should they fail to uphold their oath to support the Constitution. To do that we must first know what our Constitution says, then, secondly, we must pay close attention to the actions of those whom we elect to represent us.

Routinely our government not only passes laws which overstep the bounds imposed upon it by the Constitution, but are so mind bogglingly confusing as to be nearly unreadable.

In Federalist 62 James Madison said, “It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice, if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood…”

How are we the people to read these bills when, as one Congressman was quoted as saying it would take a team of lawyers to understand them? Yet these laws continue to be passed, while we ignorantly sit back and watch our TV’s while our rights and our liberty is slowly being taken from us a bit at a time.

So, going back to what the court said in D.C. v Heller, that our Constitution was written to be understood by the voters, let me try, one more time, to get a few things through your heads.

Prior to the drafting of the Constitution, Thomas Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence, which contains a brilliant preamble regarding the origin of the rights of man.

The Declaration states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…” emphasis added

Our rights predate our system of government, they go back to mans first appearance on this planet. They are a gift from our Creator, not from any body of men whose only power is what we the people allow them to have. In fact, as Jefferson said, it is the purpose of government to secure, or protect these rights, not to pass laws which strip them from us. He also stated that AMONG those rights are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. However, with the inclusion of the word among, Jefferson made it clear that those were not our ONLY rights.

Now, fast forward a few years to the drafting of the Constitution. Upon reading the Constitution, the first thing we find is, once again, a preamble. The preamble to the Constitution states, “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

There that word is again, liberty. Before a single Article or Clause of the Constitution is read, the founders made it clear that the Constitution was written, not only so that our government could manage the affairs of our nation but, to secure the blessings of liberty to the people.

I have heard from some that our founders overstepped their authority by even considering drafting a Constitution to replace the Articles of Confederation. That may be so, but I think that they only did so because they felt it was absolutely necessary. My only concern is that they may have put to much faith in the people of this country to keep a watchful eye upon their government, to ensure it stayed within the limits this document sets upon it.

Our Constitution was not perfect. Ben Franklin said as much is a speech he wrote upon it’s completion, “In these sentiments, Sir, I agree to this Constitution with all its faults, if they are such; because I think a general Government necessary for us, and there is no form of Government but what may be a blessing to the people if well administered, and believe farther that this is likely to be well administered for a course of years, and can only end in Despotism, as other forms have done before it, when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic Government, being incapable of any other. I doubt too whether any other Convention we can obtain, may be able to make a better Constitution.”

Even with the promise the preamble made that one of the functions of our government was to secure the blessings of liberty, there were many who refused to sign on to it unless a Bill of Rights were added to further protect the rights and liberty of the people.

So, once our government first went into action, one of the first actions of Congress was to propose a list of amendments which would list certain rights which the government would have absolutely no authority to infringe upon.

Originally there were 12 amendments proposed, but only 10 of them made it through the ratification process to become our Bill of Rights. Once ratified, they became equally as binding to our government as any other clause within the Constitution.

The purpose of these ten amendments is clearly explained by the preamble to the Bill of Rights, which states, “THE Conventions of a number of the States, having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure the beneficent ends of its institution.” emphasis added

There were arguments from both sides, some opposed to any Bill of Rights, and those who felt one was absolutely necessary. Those opposed felt that a Bill of Rights might imply that any rights not listed would therefore be open to infringement by the new system of government.

However, upon close examination of the ten amendments that comprise the Bill of Rights, we find that the 9th Amendment states, “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”

In other words, just because a right is not specifically listed, it does not mean that it does not exist, and that the people are free to exercise it at their discretion. That sentiment goes all the way back to what Jefferson said in the Declaration of Independence, that AMONG these rights are, Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

So, to sum up what I have said up to now, our rights are a gift from our Creator, not something granted us by a body of men, which was empowered by the body of the people. Also, our Constitution was written to be clearly understood by the people, its words having no hidden, or technical meanings.

Therefore, when we come to Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution, we find the powers granted to the legislative branch of our government, the Congress. Article 1, Section 8 begins with, “The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States…”

Since the Constitution was written to be understood by the voters, with words holding their ordinary meaning, this statement simply declares that Congress shall have powers to levy taxes to provide for the general welfare of the Union.

Much ado has been made about the term general welfare. In fact the misinterpretation of that simple phrase has led to numerous usurpations of power by the government. However, James Madison clearly stated that, “With respect to the two words “general welfare,” I have always regarded them as qualified by the detail of powers connected with them.”

Therefore, the general welfare was restricted to the powers listed in Article 1, Section 8. Nothing more, nothing less. So, if you read Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution with that in mind, there are only 16 areas upon which Congress can enact legislation.

At the conclusion of this Article we find a clause which states, “To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof.”

This clause also has been misinterpreted to expand the powers of government, by saying that new laws are necessary and proper for the government to do its job. However, in McCulloch v Maryland, Chief Justice John Marshall stated, “Let the end be legitimate.” He continued by saying, “let it be within the scope of the Constitution, and all means which are appropriate, which are plainly adapted to that end, which are not prohibited, but consistent with the letter and spirit of the Constitution, are constitutional.”

Therefore, if the Constitution grants the Congress the power to coin money, then it is within their power to levy taxes to build a mint to do so. However, it does not grant the Congress the power to give the power to coin our money to a privately owned bank, such as the Federal Reserve.

I could go on for pages about the usurpations of power by our government. But, just to give you an idea of how far they have overstepped their authority, I would like for you to ask yourself, referring to the clearly enumerated powers in Article 1, Section 8, if the Constitution grants the government the authority to create agencies such as; the FBI, the DEA, the ATF, the TSA, the EPA, the FCC, Homeland Security, and any other of the three letter bureaucracies that comprise our current government. If you are honest with yourself you will find that NONE of them can be justified if our Constitution were being strictly adhered to.

I know some of you see things as I do, that our government has become this huge monster which is sucking the life out of this country, and depriving us of our God given rights. However, to those of you who may not see it that way, I ask you to think whether your opinion of the function of government has any basis in fact, or if it is your own personal opinion as to the responsibilities of government. Then I would ask you to think about how you would feel if the rights being infringed upon were the ones that you enjoy, the right to vegetate in front of a TV while your government strips the rest of the people of their rights and liberty.

As the title of this article states, I have tried to make my argument in terms that even a caveman could understand. Therefore, if you continue to ignore the fact that your government is at fault for all the problems this country faces, then you are either dumber than a caveman, or you just don’t care.

In either case, as Samuel Adams once said, “If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you; May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen.”

~ The Author ~
Neal Ross can be reached for comments at bonsai@syix.com. Visit Neal’s Blog at http://www.zombie-slayer.com/neal