NoisyRoom Last week District Court Judge Cathy Seibel issued a ruling stating that New Yorkers do not have a Constitutional right to carry a firearm.
On that statement at least, she’s correct. New Yorkers don’t have a Constitutional right to defend themselves. They have a God-given right to defend themselves. The difference is huge.
Remarkably, that’s about the only part of her ruling that Judge Seibel got right. The sad part is the only reason she got that right is because she has a fundamental misunderstanding of the foundation of our government and the role she plays in it.
You see, New Yorkers can’t have a Constitutional right to defend themselves because the government cannot grant rights. Our rights are granted to us when we are created and they are a part of us as human beings – they are not subject to a judge’s decision. The only decision for a government to make is whether it will protect our God-given rights or violate them. Unfortunately, in this case it has decided to violate them.
Let’s take a look at a couple other aspects of her ruling that will demonstrate how misguided this judge truly is. According to Law.com:
Southern District Judge Cathy Seibel said she found persuasive the reasoning of the Illinois’ Court of Appeals in People v. Marin, 795 N.E.2d 958 (2003), that the overriding purpose of gun statutes should be to prevent innocent people from being victimized by gun violence. (emphasis mine)Well… not exactly. The purpose of our laws is actually to protect and enlarge our freedom as citizens.
Judge Seibel might say, “Ok Chad, what legal basis do you have for a ridiculous theory like that?” Well, I did have to do a lot of research. But I was able find it in an obscure document called the “Declaration of Independence.”
The Declaration of Independence states that:
…all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men… (emphasis mine)But if you really do want to do some research, you can go a little further back to John Locke – a man whose political writings had a major influence on our Founding Fathers – who said that the purpose “of law is, not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom.”
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