http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/12/14/ed-murray-we-need-gun-control Comments On: Ed Murray: "We need gun control." by Eli Sanders en-us Copyright 2013 The Stranger. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, The Stranger readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact The Stranger. webmaster@thestranger.com (The Stranger Webmaster) Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:01 -0700 Thu, 23 May 2013 09:45:00 -0700 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Posted by PCM]]> Sun, 16 Dec 2012 11:10:05 -0800 The Stranger
Yes, absolutely. Friends, there is a bill in the legislature that has languished there for many sessions called the Washington Health Security Trust *WHST" that would implement healthcare for every citizen of this state. It's like what we could not even talk about at the national level. We could do this for our state at least. It would include mental healthcare.
Posted by nwcitizen]]> Sat, 15 Dec 2012 19:34:32 -0800 The Stranger constitutional republics since 1789; it's had a lot more than five "constitutions." The current Fifth Republic, the brainchild of Charles de Gaulle adopted in 1958, is probably the most efficient of the five, at the cost of everyday parliamentary democracy, since parliament's lawmaking powers are limited to specified subject areas and general lawmaking authority resides in the executive (the President, the Prime Minister, and/or the Council of Ministers). However, the Fifth Republic Constitution explicitly incorporates by reference the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen and the preamble to the 1946 Fourth Republic Constitution, with its extensive social rights. Moreover, the French Constitutional Council has incorporated a number of fundamental French statutes, such as the Law of 1905 on the Separation of Church and State, into the French "constitutional corpus." Unlike us, the French don't treat their constitution as if it were holy scripture handed down from on high, and they amend it from time to time, for example changing presidential elections from electoral college to direct popular vote, reducing the president's term from 7 to 5 years, reducing senators' terms from 9 to 6 years, and turning the Constitutional Council into a bona fide constitutional court by enabling it to rule on actual cases and controversies rather than just screen new laws for constitutionality prospectively.

As for a constitutional convention in the US, that would require a well educated, well informed citizenry that we simply do not have. Most Americans still get their political news and opinion from commercial TV and radio, whose content is dictated by their conglomerate owners and their corporate advertisers. We are effectively living in a corporate propagandocracy. This is the country where Big Health successfully kept commercial media focused on death panels, moochers, and free-riders during the healthcare reform debate and away from the for-profit health racket's trillion-dollar-a-year gouge. This is the country where Big Business successfully keeps commercial media from linking "free trade" and massive tax cuts for the rich to the fact that the top 1% have captured practically all new income and wealth created in the last 30 years. The thought of people who are so effectively indoctrinated, propagandized, and manipulated determining an entire new constitution is terrifying.
Posted by PCM]]> Sat, 15 Dec 2012 12:06:06 -0800 The Stranger
First, big cities with large minority populations have more crime, regardless of their gun laws. Second, as you go south, violent crime rises. This is true from east to west. North Dakota has less crime than South Dakota, which has less crime than Nebraska, which has less crime than Kansas, which has less crime than Oklahoma, which has less crime than Texas. Same from WA to southern CA, and from Maine to Florida.


Posted by Mister G]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 17:33:46 -0800 The Stranger
- Pornography exception to first amendment.

- Declaration that the U.S. is a Christian nation.

- "Good faith" exceptions to 4th and 5th amendments

- Life beings at conception

- Marriage between one man & one woman

Need I say more?
Posted by Mister G]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 17:21:57 -0800 The Stranger
...and equating nuclear bombs with guns is just ridiculous and creating a straw man arguement.
Posted by liberty4all]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 17:19:08 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Fnarf]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 17:13:53 -0800 The Stranger
You want a convention? Be careful what you wish for.
Posted by Mister G]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 16:58:29 -0800 The Stranger
Revolutions are won by those who have guns? Tell that to Tunisia, Egypt and Czechoslovakia. And there are more. Here, let me google that for you...
Posted by treacle]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 16:56:34 -0800 The Stranger
Yea all that free speech, freedom of religion, freedom from unlawful search and seizure really get's in the way of progress.

There is no way for the constitution being rewritten barring a revolution, and revolutions are won by those who have guns.
Posted by Cascadian Bacon]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 16:38:39 -0800 The Stranger
There's absolutely no likelihood that producing a new Constitution will get rid of the rights you mention. Hasn't happened in other countries where they re-wrote their constitutions...

Here's an interesting perspective on the gun control debate: What does science say about gun control?

Posted by treacle]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 16:32:23 -0800 The Stranger
Yes, all rights are subject to limits. Why do you think I don't think so? That much said, the U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted the second amendment as conferring an individual right to firearms ownership. That right is subject to regulation, but not outright prohibition. That's not my doing. It's the Supreme Court's doing. And the WA State Constitution quite explicitly states a right to individual firearms ownership.

You can be mad about that, and you can foolishly try to call me some sort of gun nut. None of it will change the facts. The reason I mentioned the other rights in my post #12 is because #11 mentioned a "fetish with a 200-year-old constitution." Well, besides recognizing a right to keep and bear arms, that same constitution recognizes a bunch of other rights.


Posted by Mister G]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 16:27:50 -0800 The Stranger
Not to mention he can not do anything because city firearms law can not be more restrictive that state law. Nicols lost a lot of taxpayer money with the same pet project.
Posted by Cascadian Bacon]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 16:23:13 -0800 The Stranger is an organization called Mayors Against Illegal Guns (http://www.mayorsagainstillegalguns.org). Former mayor Greg Nickels was a founding member and current mayor Mike McGinn is a member, too. But for sure, Murray would be in a position to do much more -- jurisdictionally if not necessarily politically -- in the legislature than in City Hall.

As for that side issue of better mental health care, I wonder if Murray is willing to actively, vociferously support:

(1) truly universal, comprehensive coverage with no, or only nominal, out-of-pockets (tax-funded, government-run single-payer being the cheapest, fairest, and best-performing incarnation of this); and

(2) a more medically and socially constructive standard for involuntarily committing mentally ill and emotionally disturbed people to psychiatric facilities and/or treatment.


Posted by PCM]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 15:37:08 -0800 The Stranger
as to second amendment, since we all agree the govt. can ban you from owning tanks and nukes, of course it does not bar that right? Please fucking answer. You saying you can own nukes? you're crazy. You saying we can ban private nukes? you just agreed second amendment is not absolute and as in many state court decisions on individual right to bear arms from the 19th century, such "individual" rights to bear arms, do not ban the legislature from banning entire classes of arms, eg, assault weapons, or non hunting rifles, whatever.

this is for you @12. it's your incorrect arguments that block gun reforms, and folks like you, are the cause of these deaths in the sense of the cause that's prventable. about 40 nations figured this out, enacting strong gun controls, but people like you block that here with your lies, errors and myths and fantastical disinformation campaign. imagine, free speech means words have no consequences? not a chance dude. defamation is another example.
Posted by gun owners 2 blame]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 15:18:18 -0800 The Stranger Posted by dansan]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 15:10:23 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Mister G]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 15:04:33 -0800 The Stranger Posted by SeMe]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 14:57:54 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Mister G]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 14:56:30 -0800 The Stranger
Fnarf wants his way now!
Posted by meanie]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 14:52:36 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Mister G]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 14:52:24 -0800 The Stranger http://sammamishreview.com/2012/12/14/st…
Posted by xxxxxxx]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 14:48:51 -0800 The Stranger
Times change...
Posted by SuperSteve]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 14:48:18 -0800 The Stranger Quick, Props; see what you can do.....
Posted by The Show Must Go On.....]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 14:48:08 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Mister G]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 14:44:25 -0800 The Stranger