NY A City And State At War With The Constitution

Update: Today the state of New York - of course lead by the City of New York - has enacted "the toughest gun laws in the nation".  The only problem: The go way too far - clearly violating the personal right of citizens to "keep and bear arms".  Just a reminder:  This is the only right that says "shall not be infringed".  What does that mean?  It means, the government is not even to violate the "edges" of this right.

This new law does at least two things that violate the 2nd Amendment:

1) It limit's magazines to 7 rounds - the lowest limit in the nation.  At some point limiting magazines becomes a violation - long before the limit is one round.  Legislatures have reached a consensus that 10 rounds is an appropriate limit.

2) It bans many semi-auto rifles and requires current owners to register them.  This will not fly because these rifles are used in so few crimes (less than 330 murders in 2011) and the high court struck down a ban on handguns which are the number one murder weapon in the US.  If the court was going to allow a ban, it would have been a ban on handguns.

This is only the most recent case in which New York has simply ignored the Constitution, read more below.

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Those who wonder if the left, as well as the right can be a threat to our constitutional rights need look no further that Bloomberg's New York City. The Big Apple is increasingly resembling a communist police state. Consider the following examples:

First Amendment - Freedom of Religion: In the last year city government has adopted a policy of open hostility to religion in general and Evangelical Christianity in particular. The warning signs go back further. While expressing full support for the ground zero mosque, at same time the government of New York did everything it could to prevent a Greek Orthodox congregation from rebuilding its' little church that was destroyed on 9/11 - but in the last year all pretenses of respect for religion and religious freedom have been abandoned.

In September, when the 10th anniversary of 9/11 was commemorated, all clergy was excluded. Far from being required by the constitutional separation of church and state, this is without precedent in American history. A wide variety of clergy have usually been included in such events - remember the memorials immediately after 9/11? Many family members expressed dismay at this move and ask that clergy be included - but Bloomberg didn't care and didn't back down.

In December, the news got worse. The city took action expressly designed to put small congregations out of business. Across the nation, new and small congregations of all faiths - but especially Evangelical groups - have rented public school facilities on weekends. In most communities this is the ONLY public assembly space available on weekends. Not only has the Supreme Court ruled this constitutional - the justices have ruled that it is illegal for local governments to viewpoint discriminate against religious organizations. No matter, NY City would rather loose the income from these rentals (yes, they can turn a profit) than see these small congregations survive. They moved to terminate ALL rentals. With the cost of renting and converting other spaces being prohibitively expensive, hundreds of these congregations now have nowhere to worship. Of course established congregations - overwhelmingly supportive of left wing causes - have facilities that were paid for years ago. Sadly, these small congreations are some of the most effective in battling social ills such as addiction.

Second Amendment - Right To Keep And Bear Arms. In spite of two landmark Supreme Court decisions ruling that the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is both a personal right and enforceable against state and local governments, NY City continues to aggressively violate this right. For years, travelers with firearms who have missed their connections at NY Airports have been charged with Felony violation of the City's gun laws IN SPITE OF A FEDERAL LAW EXPRESSLY FORBIDDING SUCH CHARGES. In spite of recent changes, the city still places clearly unconstitutional burdens on New Yorkers who want to legally own a firearm. Finally, the city has recently charged two law abiding citizens from other states - who were licensed to carry - with felonies when they attempted to check their guns in response to signs prohibiting guns. The nurse and Marine veteran who is a diamond broker face a mandatory 3 and 1/2 years in prison. Not only does this violate the 2nd Amendment, the failure to honor out of state permits may violate the "good faith and credit" clause as well. Of course, NY does not have any process for granting permits to non-residents - even if they otherwise qualify. This means a NY diamond broker can get a license to carry, but someone in the same business from California cannot. Imagine being charged with a felony because NY decided not to honor your driver's license - even though they refuse to issue you one. This clearly violates the "equal protection" clause.

Fourth Amendment Search and Seizure. Given the city's disrespect for the first two amendments in the Bill of Rights, it should come as no surprise that they think nothing of violating the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable searches. In a city where the average person must take public transit, city visitors and residents are subject to random searches with no probable cause every day. Now the city is testing an airport style scanner for use on the streets in order to detect weapons and other contraband. This has caused the local ACLU - which is far from conservative - to express great concern.

What bothers me about New York City is the pattern of blatant disregard for the constitution. I think it should bother every American - even if you happen to be an atheist gun control advocate. Personally, I don't plan on ever going to New York - but if you do, don't forget to check your rights at the city limits.