Missing the Obvious
Posted By Russ Emerson on September 10, 2003 at 6:34 pm
James Taranto in today’s Best of the Web makes a valid criticism of Juan Williams’ verbal assault on Howard Dean. Said Williams:
Gov. Dean has suggested that states like Vermont, Montana and Wyoming, with overwhelmingly white populations, really don’t need gun control, in part because of their rural character, but urban areas, such as Baltimore, Md., with large minority populations, do need gun control.
This is an unwarranted interpretation of Dean’s actual position. No one believes Dean is racist.
On the other hand, Dean’s actual position on gun laws – and on the Constitution, generally – is far, far worse. If summarized accurately by Taranto, it is Constitutionally insupportable. Taranto writes [emphasis mine]:
Howard Dean deviates from liberal orthodoxy on one issue: gun rights. Coming from Vermont, the state with the nation’s least restrictive gun laws, Dean holds a genuinely moderate position. He opposes new federal gun-control laws, but he also believes the 10th Amendment trumps the Second and that states have the authority to pass whatever gun laws they see fit.
Surely, Dean cannot seriously believe this?
On this basis, would it then be a reasonable position to believe that the 10th Amendment trumps the First, that states should be able to pass laws restricting speech, the press, religion, and the right to assemble?
How about the Fifth – shall states be able to seize private property without compensation, if they see fit to do so? Or put a person on trial twice for the same crime?
Carried to the extreme, maybe the 13th Amendment? Should Vermont be able to reinstitute slavery?
This sort of “reasoning” betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of the Constitution and Bill of Rights. The amendments are there to guarantee and protect the basic rights of the people. Anything not specifically addressed is left to the states, under the Tenth Amendment.
Such basic errors should be considered an absolute disqualification from holding an office under the federal Constitution.
Buh-bye, Howard.