Maine adopts constitutional carry

[Coyote]

There's nothing in the Constitution about a concealed carry.

Nothing about abortion either.

No one is running around calling it "constitutional terminations" either.

 

[depotoo]

"What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms."
-- Thomas Jefferson to William Stephens Smith, 1787. ME 6:373, Papers 12:356"No Free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms."
-- Thomas Jefferson, Proposal Virginia Constitution, 1 T. Jefferson Papers, 334,[C.J. Boyd, Ed., 1950]"The right of the people to keep and bear ... arms shall not be infringed. A well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the best and most natural defense of a free country ..."
-- James Madison, I Annals of Congress 434, June 8, 1789


As civil rulers, not having their duty to the people before them, may attempt to tyrannize, and as the military forces which must be occasionally raised to defend our country, might pervert their power to the injury of their fellow citizens, the people are confirmed by the article in their right to keep and bear their private arms."
— Tench Coxe, in `Remarks on the First Part of the Amendments to the Federal Constitution’ under the Pseudonym `A Pennsylvanian’ in the Philadelphia Federal Gazette, June 18, 1789 at 2 col. 1).
"[The Constitution preserves] the advantage of being armed which Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation...(where) the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms."
--James Madison, The Federalist Papers, No. 46

And from the Constitutional debates-

Thomas Jefferson said, "No man shall ever be debarred the use of arms. The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government."

Tench Coxe, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury (1789), said, "The unlimited power of the sword is not in the hands of either the federal or state governments, but, where I trust in God it will ever remain, in the hands of the people."

Noah Webster said, "The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword, because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops."

In Federalist Paper No. 46, James Madison said the Constitution "preserves the advantage of being armed which Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation, the existence of subordinate governments, to which the people are attached,. . . forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition. . . ."

Too bad the facts are no longer taught in institutes of what are supposed to be higher education.

I believe you left out some of the arguments against the gun-toting advocates which...eventually....prompted the writers to SPECIFICALLY mention the need for a militia.

 

[Katzndogz]

Maine is being overrun by somalies. The Americans should have armed themselves before now.

 

[Claudette]

Doesn't surprise me.

Many Mainers have been and always will be armed. Hell. Guns on a rack in the truck.

I lived in NH for twenty plus years and have been to Maine many times so I've always seen Mainers armed.

Smart is what they are.

 

[nat4900]

Doesn't surprise me.

Many Mainers have been and always will be armed. Hell. Guns on a rack in the truck.

I lived in NH for twenty plus years and have been to Maine many times so I've always seen Mainers armed.

Smart is what they are.

Yep, no one really knows when radical, Muslim lobsters may set up a cell in Bangor.

 

[M14 Shooter]

There's nothing in the Constitution about a concealed carry.

"Constitutional carry"
Constitutional carry - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

 

[M14 Shooter]

I wonder if Maine is going to be the site of the next theater shooting.
There was yet another one just TODAY that happened in TN.

The only shooting there was the cops shooting a guy who did not have an actual gun, and who shot no one - much to your chagrin.

 

[M14 Shooter]

Does that mean that all those Maine residents who will be "carrying" concealed weapons are automatically enlisted in a militia?

Meaningless question, as the Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.

 

[M14 Shooter]

Does that mean that all those Maine residents who will be "carrying" concealed weapons are automatically enlisted in a militia?

Why would they need to be enlisted in a militia?

Because the Second Amendment specifically talks about a "well regulated militia".

Why do you choose to make these irrelevant statements regarding the militia?

The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.

 

[M14 Shooter]

Why would they need to be enlisted in a militia?

Well, maybe I was taking the 2nd Amendment too literally.

No.
You were arguing from ignorance and/or dishonesty.
Like all anti-gun loons.

 

[M14 Shooter]

it gives the Right to Keep and Bear Arms to the People, not the militia.

Direct citation:
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
Let others judge.

They did.
They determined that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.

 

[M14 Shooter]

Yanno..................ever since we formed up the Armed Forces and the National Guard, there really isn't any reason any more for a militia....

Your opinion on this matter does not repeal the 2nd Amendment.

 

[M14 Shooter]

Has Vermont had one?

......and, (as an aside) Bernie Sanders is a big supporter of guns. Any conservatives out there thinking of supporting Bernie? LOL

Bernie Sanders on Gun Control
Bernie Sanders Walks A Fine Line On Gun Control It s All Politics NPR

 

[M14 Shooter]

ummm
SEIU?
Top Organization Contributors OpenSecrets

I stand corrected.....to some extent.....But,
.....just over half (51 percent) of the members of Congress that convenes next month have received funding from the National Rifle Association’s political action committee at some point in their political careers

Damn. Free speech sucks.

 

[M14 Shooter]

An organization completely unsupported by taxpayers, unlike Planned Parenthood and ACORN.

Of you're referring to the NRA, please bear in mind that the vast majority of their funding comes from gun-manufacturers and some of the biggest contributors are foreign ones.

This is a lie.

 

[M14 Shooter]

Odd, I don't see the NRA on that list.
I did notice the Koch brothers at #48 on the list.

Indeed....the NRA likes to use extortion, like threatening candidates who won't play ball with them by opting to fund their opponents.

Again,... free speech sucks.

 

[The Professor]

Does that mean that all those Maine residents who will be "carrying" concealed weapons are automatically enlisted in a militia?

Why would they need to be enlisted in a militia?

Because the Second Amendment specifically talks about a "well regulated militia".

Does that mean that all those Maine residents who will be "carrying" concealed weapons are automatically enlisted in a militia?

Why would they need to be enlisted in a militia?

Because the Second Amendment specifically talks about a "well regulated militia".

The United States Supreme Court says: So what?

In DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA et al. v. HELLER (Decided June 26, 2008) The SCOTUS ruled that the right to keep and bear ars was a personal right unrelated to bieng in a militia:

Held:

1. The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home. Pp. 2–53.

(a) The Amendment’s prefatory clause announces a purpose, but does not limit or expand the scope of the second part, the operative clause. The operative clause’s text and history demonstrate that it connotes an individual right to keep and bear arms. Pp. 2–22.

(b) The prefatory clause comports with the Court’s interpretation of the operative clause. The “militia” comprised all males physically capable of acting in concert for the common defense. The Antifederalists feared that the Federal Government would disarm the people in order to disable this citizens’ militia, enabling a politicized standing army or a select militia to rule. The response was to deny Congress power to abridge the ancient right of individuals to keep and bear arms, so that the ideal of a citizens’ militia would be preserved. Pp. 22–28.

(c) The Court’s interpretation is confirmed by analogous arms-bearing rights in state constitutions that preceded and immediately followed the Second Amendment. Pp. 28–30.

(d) The Second Amendment’s drafting history, while of dubious interpretive worth, reveals three state Second Amendment proposals that unequivocally referred to an individual right to bear arms. Pp. 30–32.

(e) Interpretation of the Second Amendment by scholars, courts and legislators, from immediately after its ratification through the late 19th century also supports the Court’s conclusion. Pp. 32–47.

(f) None of the Court’s precedents forecloses the Court’s interpretation. Neither United States v. Cruikshank, 92 U. S. 542, 553, nor Presser v. Illinois, 116 U. S. 252, 264–265, refutes the individual-rights interpretation. United States v. Miller, 307 U. S. 174, does not limit the right to keep and bear arms to militia purposes, but rather limits the type of weapon to which the right applies to those used by the militia, i.e., those in common use for lawful purposes. Pp. 47–54.

2. Like most rights, the Second Amendment right is not unlimited. It is not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose: For example, concealed weapons prohibitions have been upheld under the Amendment or state analogues. The Court’s opinion should not be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms. Miller’s holding that the sorts of weapons protected are those “in common use at the time” finds support in the historical tradition of prohibiting the carrying of dangerous and unusual weapons. Pp.54–56.

District of Columbia v. Heller 554 U.S. 570 2008 Justia U.S. Supreme Court Center

Conclusion: The right to keep and bear arms is a personal right completely unrelated to membership in a militia. However the right is not absolute and may be subject to reasonable restrictions. What constitutes a reasonable restriction is a matter for the courts to decide.

 

[nat4900]

and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home

Well, since Mainers can carry their concealed gun when they go shopping at Walmart, "self-defense within the home" makes that person's house a pretty BIG one, don't you think?

 

[M14 Shooter]

and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home

Well, since Mainers can carry their concealed gun when they go shopping at Walmart, "self-defense within the home" makes that person's house a pretty BIG one, don't you think?

"Such as".... meaning there are other purposes covered by the 2nd.

You have a right to defend yourself inside your home
You have a right to defend yourself outside your home.
You have a right to own a gun for self-defense, and a right to use a gun for that purpose.
How does leaving your home negate your right to have and use a gun for self-defense?
Moore v. Madigan - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

 

[Auld Phart]

and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home

Well, since Mainers can carry their concealed gun when they go shopping at Walmart, "self-defense within the home" makes that person's house a pretty BIG one, don't you think?

Thanks to lawmakers that have actually read the Constitution, and the Heller decision, they can carry them almost anywhere.

I'm hoping for the day progressives get enough schooling to be able to read those items themselves.