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America First Party
1630 A 30th Street #111
Boulder, Colorado 80301
http://www.AmericaFirstParty.org

Friday, July 4, 2008

2nd Amendment Decision Defends Basic Rights and the Constitution

Boulder, CO - The Supreme Court's recent decision in District of Columbia vs. Heller is a welcome respite from the deluge of judicial activism seen from courts in recent times. We applaud the court for recognizing what should have been obvious to any impartial reader, that the Second Amendment right is an individual right of citizens to possess and use arms in their defense, and that this right preexisted the amendment itself. Sadly, the terrible condition of our highest court was also evident in the dissent of four justices.

In addition to supporting the individual right to bear arms, the majority opinion gives important guidance for interpreting the Constitution which should interest all citizens. This guidance, explicitly supported by the Supreme Court precedent of United States vs. Sprague (1931), is as follows: "In interpreting this text, we are guided by the principle that '[t]he Constitution was written to be understood by the voters; its words and phrases were used in their normal and ordinary as distinguished from technical meaning.' Normal meaning ... excludes secret or technical meanings that would not have been known to ordinary citizens in the founding generation."

By these words, the Supreme Court encourages all voters to read the Constitution with confidence in the knowledge that the prudent citizen can derive its correct meaning though careful study and reflection. And in doing so, we help to lay the foundation for an informed electorate that champions constitutional principle inside and outside the voting booth.

National Chairman Jonathan Hill stated, "It is great to see the arrogance of D.C. officials rebutted. Heller also shows that there is still some residual respect for law in Washington, and that the basic right to legitimate self-defense, a natural right of all mankind, is unlikely to be completely disregarded in the near-term. This is a major victory. However, the opposition of four justices is also a very bad sign."

The America First Party Platform states that we "wholeheartedly support 2nd Amendment rights as guaranteed by the United States Constitution and as given to us by Almighty God. We hold this to be an individual's right .... [we] call for repeal of all federal gun legislation and nullification of all state laws that are not in accordance with an individual's Constitutional right to keep and bear arms."

Contacts:
Jonathan Hill, National Chairman, 1-866-SOS-USA1, ext. 4
Michael Lynch, Press Secretary, 1-866-SOS-USA1, ext. 2

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