Local US Gun Law Challenged: Conservatives Angry

You would think that no matter which way your politics swing, it would be painfully obvious that losing a gun is pretty stupid thing to do.

Not so apparently.

Pittsburg Post Gazette

www.postgazette.com/pg/08329/930426-100.stm

reports that liberal councillors are playing fast and loose with the constitution by requiring that anyone dumb enough to lose their firearm reports it to the police

"Who really cares about it being unconstitutional?" said Councilwoman Tonya Payne, a supporter. "This is what's right to do, and if this means that we have to go out and have a court battle, then that's fine ... We have plenty of dead bodies coming up in our streets every single day, and that is unacceptable."

If that's really unconstitutional then surely the US Constitution is faulty (it's had loads of amendments already so no one can say it was ever perfect).

Common sense should be common sense and while the right to carry a firearm (outmoded as it might be) remains enshrined within the US constitution, the right be be stupid enough to go lose one isn't!

Over a Conservative Dakota Voice, things take a different spin as blogger Bob Ellis selectively misquotes:

When opponents questioned the constitutionality of the law, Democrat Councilwoman Tonya Payne dismissed such concerns:

"Who really cares about it being unconstitutional?"

Everyone should care whether our laws are constitutional.

While even I have to agree in pricipal, those nice people at Dakota Voice want to have it both ways and misquoting like this is an insidious way to make a point. People who sample a large number of news sources (most of us don't) see this happen all-too regularly.

Payne's point, which Dakota Voice savaged for its own end, was that a bad law ought to be challenged, repealed or replaced.

As a sidenote, after following Dakota Voice for some time now, I've notice that it has not once complained when the boot was has been on the other foot - for example when George Dubya Bush was running roughshod over the Consitution, DV were silent on the issue.

Now that Obama is heading for the Whitehouse they're understandably concerned. We'll hear more of this in the comming months.