The Patriot Act was passed with the overwhelming support of both parties in the wake of the 9-11 attacks. The act allows the government new and unprecedented permission to snoop into private financial records, authorizes warrantless searches in some cases and expanded wiretapping of telephone call and interception of Internet communications without warrants. It also permits unlimited detention of immigrants. Whether you agree with the law or not, you’d have to agree that these are quite significant infringements of Constitutional rights established in the Bill of Rights, which have protected Americans for more than 200 years. These unprecedented infringements were enacted by Congress a result of 3000 tragic deaths perpetrated on a single perfect fall morning in 2001.
Last year 30,000 Americans were killed by guns. Ten times as many as were killed on 9-11. Another 60,000 were wounded; many disabled or scared either physically or emotionally for life.
And yet there isn’t a single Congressperson that I’m aware of with the nerve to propose that people don’t need to be able to own 33 bullet magazines – let alone to suggest that any interpretation of the Second Amendment is possible other than the one that says unlimited procession of any kind gun is every American’s absolute right. It seems for some, the Constitution is a convenience at times and a nuisance at others.
Is the NRA any better than Hosni Mubarak? Is their tyranny any less lethal? Do they corrupt the political process any less? Do we lack the courage of the Egyptian people?
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