The Might of the State Does Not Make Right

In a truly free country, such as ours has been, the government gains its power from the consent of the governed.  The governed is We the People.  When the People have made it clear that there are laws that get no respect from the People and further they are unconstitutional then it is time for the law to go.  In the case of Illinois we have a number of those laws, especially the gun laws. 

Now there are several ways to make these laws go away, or at least have their effect neutralized.  Let’s take a look at some of the ways.  They can be repealed by the legislature.  That isn’t going to happen anytime soon because the Chicago Machine rules with no consideration for the Constitution.  Another way is for State’s Attorneys and law enforcement officials to refuse to enforce unconstitutional law.  A third way is for sitting juries to refuse to convict when in their opinion they feel the law is not good.

Let’s take a quick look at a few Supreme Court decisions:

"All laws which are repugnant to the Constitution, are null and void." Chief Justice Marshall, Marbury v. Madison.  I have never been to law school but I have a feeling you can’t get through law school without touching on this classic from the very earliest days (1803) of our country.

"If the legislature clearly misinterprets a constitutional provision, the frequent repetition of the wrong will not create a right." Amos v. Mosley (1917).  Can anyone say, “…right of the People to Keep and Bear Arms shall not be infringed (2^nd Amendment)?”  No matter how much the Chicago Machine repeats, “the law states you must have FOID card and no you cannot keep and bear an arm on the public way,” repetition does not create a right or additional power for government.

Here is another great one from Maryland, "Where the meaning of the constitution is clear and unambiguous, there can be no resort to construction to attribute to the founders a purpose of intent not manifest in its letter." Norris v. Baltimore.  In other words you cannot point to some part of the Constitution and say, “what the Founders really meant to say was, “Subject only to the Police Power the right of the individual citizen to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed (Illinois Constitution, Art. 1, Sec. 22).”  The intent of the Founders was clear.  If it wasn’t clear enough for the average person the Supreme Court clarified in Heller vs. Washington DC, the right to Keep and Bear arms is an individual fundamental right, period.   

A gem can be seen in this famous case, "Where rights secured by the Constitution are involved, there can be no rule making or legislation which would abrogate them."  Miranda v. Arizona  And I repeat, it says shall not be infringed!  Abrogating is stating, “Subject only to the police power…” then making any kind of limitation on the right by legislative fiat.  It won’t work!

That means the authorities take an oath to defend and uphold the Constitution and must obey their oath first and refuse to enforce unconstitutional mandates.  Keep up the fight friends.  Ask the hard questions, the Liberty of yourself and your children is at stake.  Remember our authorities need to know that the People are behind them all the way on these issues.  It is one tough job to buck the Chicago Machine.  The might of the state does not make right!