Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
_____________________________
Pertinent here:
"the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
Assembly in recent years is rarely about petitioning the government. Even when it is, Congress is rarely considering legislation about prohibiting or abridging.
Sometimes assembly is public support group stuff. But usually it's the mob intent on intimidating, which makes cowards of the rest of us if we don't present a counter mob and engage in violence.
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
__________________________
The second amendment contains the word militia but not the words self or protection or hunting.
I'm guessing that both of these amendments to the Constitution have been expanded greatly by case law and turned into mush. Most people who invoke them rarely, if ever, read them much less understand.
Assembly in a public place, with or without a permit, and roaming around intent on engaging the police should not be protected. Simply ignoring this is not an option either. The purpose of the mob is to get media attention, not public discourse. The media likes it because it gets ratings, etc. Who doesn't like watching a train wreck?
Modern communication makes assembly unnecessary. Mob members could stay home using their computers to inform their elected representatives of their views. They could become media with podcasts, etc. They do not need to assemble.
No comments:
Post a Comment