Once again Judge Napolitano gives inaccurate information concerning the rule of law and our Constitution. This time he tells Newsmax that it is up to Congress to ban or not ban bump stocks. What he ignores is our Constitution’s Second Amendment and that nowhere in our Constitution has that Amendment been repealed to allow Congress to adopt legislation regulating firearms within the various state borders.
What Judge Napolitano constantly ignores is the documented legislative intent, for our founders adopting the first ten amendments in our Constitution, which is found in the Resolution of the First Congress Submitting Twelve Amendments to the Constitution; March 4, 1789 and confirms its intent is to preserve federalism, our constitution’s plan.
“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”.
Additional evidence is James Madison, speaking with reference to the adoption of these specific amendments, and confirming their adoption is to preserve and protect “federalism”, our Constitution’s big-tent system which reserves to the States and people therein, all powers not delegated to Congress. He says:
“It cannot be a secret to the gentlemen in this House, that, notwithstanding the ratification of this system of Government by eleven of the thirteen United States, in some cases unanimously, in others by large majorities; yet still there is a great number of our constituents who are dissatisfied with it; among whom are many respectable for their talents and patriotism, and respectable for the jealousy they have for their liberty, which, though mistaken in its object, is laudable in its motive. There is a great body of the people falling under this description, who at present feel much inclined to join their support to the cause of Federalism” ___See Madison, June 8th, 1789, Amendments to the Constitution
In general, I think Judge Napolitano has a lot to offer Newsmax with regard to issues of law, but he certainly has a blind spot when it comes to supporting and defending our written Constitution in that he ignores a fundamental principle of constitutional construction. Those who reject abiding by the text of our Constitution, and the intentions and beliefs under which it was agree to, as documented from historical records ___ its framing and ratification debates which give context to its text ___ wish to remove the anchor and rudder of our constitutional system so they may then be free to “interpret” the Constitution to mean whatever they wish it to mean.
JWK
The whole aim of construction, as applied to a provision of the Constitution, is to discover the meaning, to ascertain and give effect to the intent of its framers and the people who adopted it._____HOME BLDG. & LOAN ASSOCIATION v. BLAISDELL, 290 U.S. 398 (1934)
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