The NRA and the US Constitution

Forks was an interesting little place.  It was very old and run down and poor.  We were talking about how it felt very 'male' and quite 'redneck' orientated.  We ate at the one diner/cafe, lunch, breakfast and (thank goodness) a 'sack lunch'- which we put in our bike bags and were so relieved to have with us when we reached our campsite in the rain.

We also had a small pizza for dinner (funny, we ordered it and then I asked for half to be jalapenos - so we got one side of the pizza with all the toppings and half with only jalapenos - pizza sandwich was created with two slices.).  It was a very busy place on a Saturday night, so we had a 35 minute wait.  The only reading was the magazine of the National Rifle Association (NRA).  So Peter picked it up and read a call to arms from the NRA about the threat of the pending gun legislation.

The call was based on the 'freedom of the rights of Americans under the constitution to bear arms.'  So we thought that we should find out more about the constitution, as we didn't really understand that.

The US constitution was created in 1789 with the 12 basic articles, which created the constitution and the rules to change the constitution (Harts Secondary Rules for us law students.)  Then there were 10 amendments to the constitution in 1791.  These amendments were to cover the following topics:

1. Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly and Petition.  2. Right to Bear Arms, 3. Quartering of Troops, 4. Search and Seizure, 5. Grand Jury, Double Jeopardy, Self-Incrimination and Due Process, 6. Criminal Prosecutions, - Jury Trial, Right to Counsel, Right to Confront, 7. Common Law - Jury Trial, 8, Excess Bail or Fines, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, 9, Non emunerated rights and 10, Rights reserved to states or people.

As you can see, these amendments are pretty fundamental 'rights', but we never realised that amendment 2 was 'right to bear arms.' It helps us understand a lot more about the arms arguments in the US, that we never understood.

There are 27 amendments in total, now including the abolition of slavery (1865, amendment 13), Rights not to be denied on account of race (1870, amendment 15), prohibition (1919, amendment 18 - and its repeal in 1933), Womens right to vote (1920, amendment 19), and the 27th in 1992 - compensation of the members of congress.

The background to this right in the 2nd amendment is that the right is supposedly based on the right provided to Protestants in the British 1688 Bill of Rights (that is part of NZ law.)   The 1688 Bill does in fact provide protection to Protestants from disarmament by the Crown.  However, it is believed that this was merely restoring a right that had previously been taken from landowners.  It does also say 'as allowed by law', but it is a useful quote in the arguments for bearing arms.

One of the things that has amazed me and some of my fellow law students is how little we are taught in New Zealand about our constitutional arrangements and how laws are made in NZ.  In contrast, civics is a core subject at school in the US and people know about the constitution and how laws are made from a very early age and can have a discussion about the topic at any time.

This does highlight how there can be such opposing political views in the media here, whereas in New Zealand, although we can spot some leanings of different news outlets, it does not seem to be as defined.

It also gives me a different outlook on the role of 'rights' in our society.  Why was prohibition a 'constitutional amendment' which was then repealed, and not just a federal law?  

Having just completed a 3000 word essay on how rights are created, and the role of the judiciary in 'interpreting or creating rights', it makes me more aware of the power of the Supreme Court in the US in 'creating law.'  When researching this second amendment, the web entries compare the different Supreme Court decisions in relation to the right to bear arms.  

Interesting food for thought and an interesting experience to read the NRA publication.