Editor:
That laws contrary to the U.S. Constitution should be enforced goes against the very spirit that informs our senses of liberty and governance. The Supreme Court in Marbury v. Madison (1803) stated: “All laws which are repugnant to the Constitution are null and void.”
The argument that the county sheriffs should unthinkingly enforce all laws ignores the fact that the sheriffs are sworn to uphold the constitutions of the state and the nation. This commission assumes discernment on the part of the sheriffs as to what is and is not constitutional and, hence, what is lawful. Contrasting this with the morally vacant Nuremberg defense that the Nazi murderers were only doing their jobs as ordered, we can appreciate the courageous and principled actions of our sheriffs.
Recognition of the inherent tension between government and individual liberty caused the inclusion of the Bill of Rights as part of the Constitution. The founders were acutely aware that history demonstrates that all governments evolve towards tyranny. The Bill of Rights and especially the right “to keep and to bear arms” was to enable the people to resist government’s predations, and to remind future generations of their hard won rights. James Madison, the principal author of the Bill of Rights, wrote that these rights were “essential and sacred rights [that] each individual reserves to himself.”
Dunton May’s argument (letter, June 11) that the Second Amendment is subject to “... restrictions as determined by federal and state governments” ignores the logic behind its adoption. The founders were smarter than to have the fox guard the chickens. These rights were not to be surrendered easily to political contrivance or to the exigencies of a future day.
To say that the Second Amendment by its wording is restrictive is to confess ignorance of the grammar, history and writings of the authors of the amendment. As federalist Tench Coxe stated, “their swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birth right of an American.” To be otherwise will condemn us to tyranny.
Art Requena
Cortez
