Accuntability
The content of this post is based on my reading and my understanding of federal and state laws and the foundational role of government, as stated in the Declaration of Independence of July 4, 1776: “to secure these rights.”
This post is a work in progress.
I invite authoritative comments contary to or in support of what I have written in this post. Please cite your source of information in either case.
A Brief History
The Declaration of Independnence of July 4, 1776 enumerated 27 grievances against King George III. The present-day US Constitution, ratified June 21, 1788, and the Bill of Rights, ratified December 1, 1791, provided remedies for those grievances.
One Story
The Dallas Express, January 3,2024 | Woman Faces Eviction After Killing Intruder
Quote: Although [Aleah] Wallace doesn’t live in her jurisdiction, Texas Rep. Carrie Isaac (R-Dripping Springs) has decided to support her against eviction or, at the very least, help her find new accommodations.
“It made me very angry,” Isaac recalled after hearing Wallace’s story, according to Fox 4. “No one should be denied their Second Amendment right just because they live in public housing. It’s unconstitutional.” Unquote
My Story
A fellow veteran was interred at the Dallas Fort Worth National Cemetery, a federal facility. At the entrance, I saw a sign prohibiting firearms. I regularly have on my person my handgun for self-defense. It is with me everywhere not prohibeted by law. I turned around and returned to Rockwall unable to join fellow Rockwall Veterans to honor Mike Donnegan at his gravesite.
Why are personal firearms prohibited in a cemetery?
The Federal Law | Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
41 CFR § 102-74.440 Subpart C—Conduct on Federal Property
Federal law prohibits the possession of firearms or other dangerous weapons in Federal facilities and Federal court facilities by all persons not specifically authorized by 18 U.S.C. 930. Violators will be subject to fine and/or imprisonment for periods up to five (5) years.
Examples of Federal Properties Affected
- National Parks: Grand Canyon, Yosemite National Park, National Forests, etc.
- National Cemeteries
- GSA Facilities
- All Postal Facilities (USPS)
- Federally Funded or Subsidized Housing Facilities
- Federal Courthouses
- Military Facilities
- Federal Medical Facilities
- Military Recruiting Offices located in commercial buildings
Reference, the USCCA: Federally Banned Locations for Carrying Firearms
A Question of Constitutionality
U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 8
This section authorizes 17 specific powers of Congress. As per Article VI, the definition of the Supreme Law of the Land, federal lawmaking has a narrow field of issues over which it has constitutional authority. Conspicuous by their absence are powers over education, firearms, private and personal property, and energy, the atmosphere, and water supplies, among other matters.
After the incorporation of the 13 original states, federally-owned territories were vast. Except for Texas that exchanged its vast landholdings for payment of Texas debt, 36 of the states were formed on federal lands. Over half of the land in the western states is owned and managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Why? Why is 85% of the State of Nevada controlled by the BLM?
U.S. Constitution, ArticleVI, the second clause
This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.
U.S. Constitution, Amendment II
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
What does the word infringe mean?
U.S. Constitution, Amendment X
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
Texas State Constitution, Article 1, Section 23
RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS. Every citizen shall have the right to keep and bear arms in the lawful defence† of himself or the State; but the Legislature shall have power, by law, to regulate the wearing of arms, with a view to prevent crime.
The Obvious
The Bill of Rights and the enumerated powers of federal government were created to restrain government, not citizens.
The Constitution Center: Interpretation of the Second Amendment: “…The Second Amendment originally applied only to the federal government, leaving the states to regulate weapons as they saw fit. Although there is substantial evidence that the Privileges or Immunities Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment was meant to protect the right of individuals to keep and bear arms from infringement by the states, the Supreme Court rejected this interpretation in United States v. Cruikshank (1876).”
The federal government has no authority over the personal possession of firearms, as per Amendment II. “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.“
The State of Texas has all authority over the personal possession of firearms, per Article 1, Section 23 of the Texas Constitution.
As per Amendment II of the U.S. Constitution, the State of Texas cannot deny the purchase or possession of firearms to any resident of the State of Texas, except “with a view to prevent crime.“
Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution is known as the enumerated powers of the federal government. The powers of the federal government to create laws and prosecute violators of the laws enumerated in this section are few and specific.
Proposition
The original intent of the letter and the spirit of the US Constitution was, to provide for a common defennse, to govern interstate issues and international issues, while the states govern the people within its state boundaries. This is clearly the original intent of the Tenth Amendment: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.“
The federal government is not authorized to infringe on our right to keep and bear arms or to regulate privately owned firearms. The constitution does not prohibit the states from regulating firearms. Therefore the powers to regulate privately owned firearms rests with the states or the people.
As of December 29, 2023, the Federal Register had 90,402 pages. The average adult reader would need 6 or more years to read it.
Presidents and Congressmen come and go. The ‘Deep State,’ the unelected myriad career bureaucrats, daily rise to higher authority over our people. Day by day, the IRS, the DOJ, the ATF, and all the rest of the ‘alphabet-soup bureaucracies’ routinely promulgate new laws outside the Congress, defining a tragectory toward tyranny.
We, the People, have the burden, the responsibility, and the authority, to demand the federal government operate within its constitutional limitations.
John White
Rockwall, Texas
John N. White 