By Curt_Anderson January 3, 2024 3:58 pm Category: Law (0.0 from 0 votes) Rules of the Post Write A New Article How To Post Here Rate this article (5=best, 0=poor)

I fall into the originalist camp.

Constitutional originalism is the principle or belief that the Constitution should be interpreted in a way consistent with how it would have been understood or was intended to be understood at the time it was written.

Constitutional modernism is an approach to constitutional interpretation that considers the Constitution as if it were ratified today. Modernists believe the Constitution is a living document that evolves with society.

Unlike Alan Dershowitz, from what I've read the framers carefully crafted the Constitution and its amendments, fully aware of the scope of what they debated and ultimately voted on. I don't think they forget include words. I don't think they meant, "just this last insurrection" otherwise they would have spelled it out.

When conservatives love Alan Dershowitz
"A fair reading of the text and history of the 14th Amendment makes it relatively clear, however, that the disability provision was intended to apply to those who served the Confederacy during the Civil War. It wasn’t intended as a general provision empowering one party to disqualify the leading candidate of the other party in any future elections." --Alan Dershowitz, No, the 14th Amendment Can’t Disqualify Trump

When it comes to the Second Amendment, unlike Dershowitz, I don't think the framers intended any unwritten limits on gun ownership. While they probably didn't visualize modern lightweight semi-automatic rifles, unless and until there is new amendment ratified that limits the types of guns that are legal, we are stuck with the 2nd. I've written about this before: we can limit gun tragedies substantially without infringing on the right to bear arms.

When conservatives hate Alan Dershowitz
“We have to fulfill what the real meaning of the Second Amendment is: reasonable access to guns for self-protection and for hunting. And there’s no room in America for these semiautomatic, automatic and other kinds of weapons that are simply designed to cause mass havoc." --Alan Dershowitz

Dershowitz called the Second Amendment an “anachronism” because if America had the choice today it would not choose to be an “armed society.”

“The Second Amendment has no place in modern society,” he said.

Cited and related links:

1. compactmag.com
2. fox40.com
3. thecrimson.com

Comments Start Below

by Indy! on January 3, 2024 6:35 pm For once I agree with Douchowitz. The Second Amendment is easily the least important amendment - not even in the same ballpark with things like free speech, the right to assemble or pursue happiness (one that is taken from citizens everyday by idiots exercising their right to shoot up the place). The other Amendments are all lofty intellectual exercises. Including the "right" to own a gun is on the same level as putting the right to own a dog in there - it simply does not belong. by oldedude on January 4, 2024 6:09 am But explaining 2A to you is like explaining that blacks have equal rights to a Grand Wizard of the KKK. by Indy! on January 4, 2024 8:50 am Old Dud, you have proven time and again you simply do not have the intellectual chops to discuss any issue of import. You know a few facts and confuse that (knowledge) with intellect - they are two different things. We CAN'T teach a monkey the finer points of Constitutional theory. We CAN teach a monkey how to shoot a gun. See if you can figure out which one you are. by oldedude on January 4, 2024 11:24 am Are you now going to make a joke? That's what you usually do right before you hide behind your daddy's skirts. by oldedude on January 4, 2024 12:46 pm And this is coming from the "guy" that didn't know what due process is... You must have been to the same school on the island of misfit toys. If you could/would cite something every now and then it might be different. by oldedude on January 4, 2024 1:06 pm Modernists believe the Constitution is a living document that evolves with society. Interesting curt. I've always considered myself a constitutionalist, but by your definition, I'm a modernist. I believe in the law and what the constitution says. I also believe there are ways to update the Constitution as we change. I don't believe new laws that violate the constitution should be enacted. You need to change the foundation first. Then change the laws. I also think the 14th Amendment is archaic at one single point. The children of slaves are where they are and have been for a long time. That law is now being used for nefarious purposes. People are coming here, having children then leaving with an American Citizen. Mexican drug lord Joaquin Guzman's wife had twins in US. They are both US Citizens. Obviously, I'm not worked up over it. but I would like to see this. bbc.com by Indy! on January 4, 2024 2:59 pm I knew what due process was before you got to the part about how to police up cigarette butts at your military "academy". The fact you think due process is something that is hard to understand gives a very good peek at how slow your brain works in general. I'm glad you finally learned what those two words meant, but here in absolutely gorgeous South Florida they taught us about due process in elementary school. If memory serves that was around 3rd grade. by oldedude on January 5, 2024 5:38 am Interesting, Because I was the one that knew it all the time. You mocked the definitions, as did curt, po, isle. Which tells me you couldn't buy a clue about it. You remind me of my Alzheimer's mom during the Bush II campaign. She had seen the "flipper" commercials. She couldn't get it straight about who the commercial was about, and what it said. It was pretty funny. For you. Not so much. View Video Go To Top

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