From: graham@cs.washington.edu (Stephen Graham)
Subject: Re: Some more about gun control...
Organization: Computer Science & Engineering, U. of Washington, Seattle

In article <1qicep$obf@transfer.stratus.com> cdt@sw.stratus.com (C. D. Tavares) writes:
>In article <1993Apr14.232806.18970@beaver.cs.washington.edu>, graham@cs.washington.edu (Stephen Graham) writes:
>> In article <1qhpcn$b12@transfer.stratus.com> cdt@sw.stratus.com (C. D. Tavares) writes:
>> >As far as "John Q. Public with a gun," the Supreme Court has already
>> >ruled in cases such as US v. Miller (307 U.S. 175 (1939)), and US v.
>> >Verdugo-Urquidez (110 S. Ct. 1839 (1990)) that that is EXACTLY what 
>> >the amendment protects.  This interpretation can be found as far back
>> >as the Dred Scott case, in 1857.
>> 
>> It's worth noting that US vs. Miller sustained Miller's conviction
>> of possession of an illegal firearm, noting that a sawed-off shotgun
>> was not a proper militia weapon. 
>
>No, they noted that no one had CLAIMED that it was a proper militia
>weapon (despite having been used in at least two wars).  This was true,
>since neither Miller nor his lawyer appeared before the Court.

Did they or did they not sustain Miller's conviction? I don't have the
text of the case handy. 

Yes, shotguns had been used in WWI, the Spanish-American War, and the
US Civil War. That was not in question. The possession of a sawed-off
shotgun was, i.e., a weapon altered to improve concealibility.

>> Therefore, US vs. Miller supports limited government regulation of 
>> firearms.
>
>Don't go arguing down this road unless you are willing to abide by 
>the consequences that you find at the end of it -- mainly, that the
>law-abiding common man has a right to own any weapon that has a militia 
>purpose, from handguns to sawed-off shotguns and fully automatic weapons.
>That, in fact, is what this decision says.

You are free to produce evidence that I'm not willing to abide with
all the implications of this. 

Just because I don't whole-heartedly endorse the NRA position does not
mean that I oppose the RKBA. This attitude is what makes the NRA
unpopular.

-- 
Stephen Graham
graham@cs.washington.edu	 uw-beaver!june!graham
