Oh please, this is barely worthy of a rejoinder. The fact is, there are few, if any, absolute rights. Just ask the average prisoner if they have a right to bear arms, vote, or associate with whomever they choose. They don't - even when they're released. What I wish Obama had said is that there was not a failure of either the gun selling system or of the mental health system, but there was a failure of the two systems to communicate. People with mental illness are, and should be, proscribed from owning firearms. We've seen a number of recent and horrific examples of why this is a good policy. We need much stronger communication between the mental health system and every possible venue where a gun can be sold. As for privacy rights, someone can be "red-flagged" - that is, made ineligible from buying a gun - without the person who would be selling it to them being told why. There should be the possibility of appeal through the courts, on a case by case basis, but that's it. The founders never imagined that the village idiot - whom we might today call mentally disturbed - be given a gun, for personal reasons or to serve in any militia. Let's get real.
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OK, Obama believes that the 2nd Amendment provides an individual's right to bear arms. What he supports are a communities'... [MORE]
Julia
Mar 18, 2008 11:13
Almost nobody thinks a criminal should have the right to own a gun. What Senator Obama is saying is that... [MORE]