Serious Warning to Gun Rights Supporters in Alabama

By Gina Miller
RenewAmerica.com

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Last week, I wrote a short column warning of the very real danger to Alabama residents' gun rights from the proposed Statewide Amendment 3 on the ballot for this November 4th. Here is the proposed amendment:

Act 2013-267, HB8, proposes an amendment to Article I, Section 26 of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, to provide that every citizen has a fundamental right to bear arms and that any restriction on this right would be subject to strict scrutiny. The proposed amendment also provides that no international treaty or law may prohibit, limit, or otherwise interfere with a citizen's fundamental right to bear arms.

The wording in the amendment makes quite clear the back door it leaves wide open for future courts or state legislatures, under the sway of leftists, to impose restrictions on Alabamans' gun rights – after "strict scrutiny," of course! But, I was astonished to learn that there are apparently supporters of this amendment among conservative, TEA Party and gun rights groups, including "Alabama Gun Rights," whose Legislative Affairs Director, George Owens, has on his publicly viewable Facebook page a message of support for this amendment, posted on September 30th By Brian Phillips. The post was signed by George Owens, and states, in part:

Currently there are three levels of scrutiny applied to the issues of constitutional rights; Rational Basis, Intermediate Scrutiny, and Strict Scrutiny.

Passage of this Amendment will go far in protecting the rights of future generations of Alabama Citizens who may not have the blessings of a pro-gun legislature, and be faced with passage of laws that significantly curtail their right to bear arms.

This Amendment is supported by the National Rifle Association, Second Amendment Foundation, The Citizens Committee on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, Gun owners of America, and every attorney who has argued for gun rights in every court in this nation including Alan Guara, who argued the Heller v DC and McDonald v Chicago gun rights cases.

Alabama Gun Rights Inc., asks our members to make your family and friends aware of this important constitutional amendment and ask them to vote for the amendment on the November ballot.

This is dead wrong, and if true, it's deeply disturbing that all these gun rights groups are supporting this amendment. We must remember that it is leftist, tyranny-pushers who have worked their way into positions of power in courts and legislatures who have used twisted "legal" arguments under the guise of terms like "strict scrutiny" to shred the United States Constitution and our natural rights.

I don't know whether conservatives who support Alabama Statewide Amendment 3 are doing so out of a lack of understanding of the danger to their gun rights that amendment poses, or if they are leftist infiltrators posing as conservatives to mislead people into voting away their God-given right to keep and bear arms. Either way, it's not good. With the words, "...and that any restriction on this right would be subject to strict scrutiny," this amendment declares that your unalienable right to keep and bear arms is NOT unalienable and will be subject to restriction! Don't you see? This is subtle and evil, the wordsmithing of tyrants.

I contacted retired attorney, constitutional scholar and logician extraordinaire, Publius Huldah, to give us her take on this proposed amendment. Here is what she wrote:

The proposed Amendment 3 takes away the God-given or natural right of self-defense recognized in the existing wording of Article I, Section 26 of the Declaration of Rights of the Alabama Constitution; and transforms it into a mere "fundamental right" which is subject to whatever restrictions the Alabama State government might later decide to impose.

A "fundamental right" [as opposed to a God-given or natural right] is a government created and regulated "right." This concept is being used to strip us of the God-given unalienable rights mentioned in our Declaration of Independence (2nd para), and replace them with "fundamental rights" which are subject to whatever restrictions the government wishes to impose.

The People of Alabama should take no comfort in the use of the fine-sounding terms, "fundamental rights" and "strict scrutiny." Such terms were chosen to deceive you. In this Brave New World, these terms are legal code language for replacing God given or natural rights with privileges granted and withdrawn by the government.

The proposed Amendment 3 is a treacherous scheme to deprive the People of Alabama of the God-given right of self-defense. The existing wording of Article I, § 26 does not permit the State government to impose ANY restrictions on your God-given right to self-defense.

If The People of Alabama ratify proposed Amendment 3, they will thereafter bear arms ONLY if the Alabama government says they can.

This is a serious warning, not only for the people of Alabama, but for every American in any state where nefarious people seek to tamper with our natural right to keep and bear arms. Don't be deceived by Alabama Statewide Amendment 3. It's a Trojan horse that will one day bite the hand that votes for it. Alabama, be wise and vote "NO" on this terrible amendment!