Motherly Law

F is for Fear: Bad School Policies Affecting Good Kids {On a Soapbox....on a Tuesday}

School Contraband

I really hate the stories about the students, mostly boys, who once at school discover they have accidently brought a toy gun or small pocket knife in their backpack, book bag, lunch box or coat pocket; who report this to the teacher because the student knows this is contraband that shouldn't be at school; only to be tossed out of school and receive a record of bringing a "weapon" to school and a school suspension.

A boy from Georgia did just this a week or so ago. While in chess club, the 13 year old middle school student, discovered the 1.5 inch knife in the military style bag his aunt bought at a yard sale and gave him as a Christmas gift. The boy, upon discovering this knife, immediately alerted his teacher. His reward for this honest act? A 4-day, in-school suspension.

The Wrong Message

I can't tell you how angry this story and others like it make me. Disciplining an honest, well-meaning child in this way teaches two negative lessons: 1) don't tell the truth and 2) justice is a fraud.

We tell our children to tell the truth; honesty is the best policy. We tell our children that justice will prevail; the innocent will be free and the guilty punished.

And yet, our schools have responded to isolated incidents of evilness with fear. This fear has caused them to write harsh and unfair policies regarding ANY "weapons" brought to school, whether real or perceived, under ANY circumstances.

Lessons Learned

These school policies teach children to hide the truth {and the contraband} should they make such a discovery in their bags or pockets. These policies teach children that mens rea, or intent, doesn't matter, motives are unimportant, they are guilty by association and the school need not have any evidence to present against them to be found guilty of this "crime." These are lessons our students will learn at a young age and take with them all through school and into their adulthood.

We have thrown out the common sense response to the self-reporting of accidently {or unbeknownst to the student, as in this case} bringing a toy weapon or small knife to school. The response in such cases should be kind and appreciative. We should applaud and welcome those who come forward to admit the mistake and turn in the contraband; then remind all the students of the dangers of having any weapons, toy or otherwise, at school for a variety of reasons and tell them to carefully check their bags and remove any such items before coming to school.

The Scoop

Schools, in trying to protect the students, have instead hurt some of the "good" students. These policies are bad. These kinds of stories almost always make the news because they are unjust policies. Why must we punish the truthful, rule-following, upstanding students? The simple answer is Fear.

Fear controls much of how we run our lives. We must overcome fear and recognize the difference between students who are a threat and in need of intervention and students who are well-meaning, good kids, who sometimes make and honest mistake. Over and out...

Anna

Straight Shooting: Boys & Guns

It's Inevitable

When I gather with other mothers the topic is bound to come up. It started when my sons were just little tikes, probably around the two year mark. And just as the discussion among moms is inevitable so is a boy's desire to know more...no matter how you, as a parent, feel about it.

I'm talking about guns; space blasters, water squirters, Nerf guns, laser guns, pop guns, rifles, pistols and any other kind of toy firearm. There comes a time for just about every boy when guns are of the utmost interest. It seems to be innate. It isn't something that can be contained or dismissed by a parent who wishes to suppress the issue of firearms, whether toy or real. It just happens.

This is not to say that a boy who puts a toy gun on his Christmas wish list will grow up to be a gun slingin', always packin', proud card carryin' NRA member. No, for most it's just a fad as are so many types of toys.

Not to be Ignored

My theory is this, the more you try to ignore the subject of guns, the more your son will want to know about what he's missing out on, which will only perpetuate the gun phase. Boys who are not allowed to play with actual toy guns will build them with Legos or other connecting blocks, turn sticks into guns or simply use their hands. We have allowed the toys guns, but the boys have only a few guns, mostly of the space alien laser type.

We are not gun toting kind of people, as I mentioned in yesterday's post, but I do talk openly about guns. I have explained about the dangers of guns, what to do if they ever encounter a gun in a field, at a person's home, at school, at the park, etc. I have said if they do happen upon a gun that they should never pick it up; even if it looks like a toy because many times real guns might look like a toy gun. Instead, I have instructed them to immediately report to a trusted adult. And I have made it a practice to inquire whether there are guns in the home where my child is invited to play.

The Presence of Firearms

Many people do own guns; some for protection, some for hunting and some for work {as in the case of law enforcement, not bounty hunters and assassins}. And to each his own; as long as the gun is not used or kept in a reckless manner and is obtained and registered legally.

Recently, while at a park with my Darling Boys and one of Darling 1's new friends from Kindergarten, the friend's mom and I had a conversation. Eventually, it turned to boys and guns. I mentioned that we don't have any guns in the home and she told me that they don't have guns either. Then, she said that she had been wondering how she would bring this issue up with parents of new friends from school who might invite her son over, and she was relieved that we had gotten that out of the way.

It's an awkward conversation to have, especially with fellow parents you may have just met, but I made a decision a while ago that I would ask. It's far less awkward to have this conversation than the conversation where you have to tell the parents that their child was accidentally shot and killed by a gun in your home. Sounds harsh, but it's true.

Just think of the number of times you have seen a headline telling of tragedy involving young kids and guns found in the home. Often, the child who lives in the home isn't even aware that a gun is in the home until he or she accidentally finds the gun. These accounts usually have the same storyline; a child finds the loaded gun in a closet, in a table next to the bed, between the mattress, etc. and by accident pulls the trigger shooting either him/herself, an unsuspecting sibling or friend.

You Should....

So, my opinion is that if you do indeed have guns for any purpose in your home, you should tell your children and anyone else in the home that there are firearms present. You should talk to the inhabitants of your home about the dangers of firearms. You should keep the firearms unloaded and locked. You should make sure that the inhabitants of the home know where the firearms are kept, and that location should not be accessible to children. This means it should be locked; kids can climb and reach anything.

The Scoop

And that's my two cents worth.* How do you feel about guns; toys or the real deal? Over and out...

Anna

*I write this from the perspective of a boy mom. Girls may have an interest in guns too. Of course, all the safety information pertains to both boys and girls.

Mississippi Underestimated: Answering the Question of Personhood

Free Choice

I recently saw a quote from a conservative governor stating that he had vetoed a particular bill because he didn't want to micromanage the actions of adults. This quote struck me as odd for a number of reasons. To name one, it's conservatives who typically are trying to take away the choice of abortions for all women. Isn't this also micromanaging adult women's actions?

Let me be clear. I am not a proponent of abortions. I don't know a single soul who is. I am a proponent of free choice. Abortion is not something that I would choose, as far as I know. But then again, I've never been in a position to have to make this decision; so I can't say for certain. I am certain that I cannot make that decision for anyone else though; it's not for me to say what others do with their bodies.

I think that a woman or a man should have the choice of making decisions regarding her or his body without the state interfering with this choice because someone else living in that state may disagree with the choice that person makes. The decision to have an abortion for any reason is one of the most personal choices I can think of.

An Argument for Conservatives

I liken my argument to that of gun rights. I, personally, don't think that people should own guns for personal safety or hunting. I, personally, think that people with guns make our society less safe. However, not everyone agrees with me. There are those who think it's vitally important to have firearms in the home in order to protect the family. There are others who enjoy the sport of hunting.

I will leave them to their sport and their sense of security. I will not tell them they can't own guns, even if they are safe with them and follow all the laws regarding firearm ownership and don't threaten others or commit crimes with their firearms. That is their right.

MS 26

Well, it's also a woman's right to decide what happens to her body. Yesterday, the people of Mississippi went to the polls to vote on a number of items, one of which was Initiative 26. "MS 26" as it was termed may have been on the MS ballot, but it was an issue that could have affected all women across this country. I spent my evening watching my Twitter stream with the hashtag #MS26 {I met some lovely ladies from MS too.} and monitoring MS election results.

If MS 26 had succeeded it could have opened the flood gates rushing toward the eventual overturn of Roe v. Wade. Well, it didn't. The people of Mississippi came through in the name of women's rights.

The exact wording of MS 26 is this:

Should the term 'person' be defined to include every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning, or the equivalent thereof?

57% of the voters in MS answered this question with a resounding, "NO" despite the time and money spent by Personhood USA in hopes of a "yes" vote.

Personhood USA

Personhood USA is a Colorado based "Christian" nonprofit organization that "serves the pro-life community by assisting local groups to initiate citizen, legislative, and political action focusing on the ultimate goal of the pro-life movement: personhood rights for all innocent humans."

What this means is that a grassroots team showed up in MS and planted the idea of putting this question to the vote of the people in hopes of stirring the pot into a frenzy that could lead other ultra conservative states to do the same. The Personhood Mississippi website says if the vote was yes, a legal challenge would be set up to challenge Roe v. Wade. Of course, the website also says that the most important reason to vote yes is that it will honor God and show love to their neighbors in the law system. Clearly, Personhood USA was appealing to the conservative Christian voters of that state.

Strong Southern Women

Mississippians responded with their own grassroots fight, explaining to would-be voters that MS 26 could have more far reaching effects, such as infertility treatments, access to contraception and women's health, in general. Personhood USA thought it could appeal to the deeply conservative, Christian, low-income and uneducated citizens of MS. They were wrong. Mississippians are smarting than that.

The idea of the personhood question evolved from U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart's observation during Roe v. Wade oral arguments when he said, "If it were established that an unborn fetus is a person, you would have an impossible case here." Now Personhood USA is trying to do just that. 

The Scoop

There are a number of laws in place that regulate the how, when and where abortions are performed, by whom and upon whom. It's not a spur of the moment, lightly taken, frivolous decision....ever. And the laws in place protect those who for whatever reason have come to a clinic for an abortion. Without these laws, providing this right, abortions would still take place, but behind the scenes, without safeguards, without regulating the who or what or when or where.

In the past I wrote about laws with unintended results. If the voters' answer to MS 26 had been yes, this would have been one of those laws. This issue is not about choosing abortion; this issue is about choosing for one's self. The people of Mississippi have chosen for themselves. Over and out...

Anna

 

The List: Countering Tragedy with Information

Birthday Wishes

For our family, this week was a week of celebrating Darling 1's 5^th Birthday; having fun with family in Texas and cross-country driving. We laughed and played and ate and soaked up the hot, dry heat. Even though the last leg of our trip home was a difficult one with all of us worn and wearied from our road trip adventures, we did not suffer any tragedies; we endured and we made it home safely.

Sadness Abounds

And yet, this week there were a number of headlines that deeply saddened me. Young lives were lost and put at risk due to misjudgment, ignorance or pure accident. Despite every precaution, thoughtful planning and protective measure taken, tragedies still do occur, but parents should continue do their best to educate themselves and their children about safety issues in order to reduce the risk associated with merely living life and growing up.

I have written past posts about the issues surrounding each of these tragedies. Please take a moment to refresh your memory and remind your kiddos of these safety measures regarding guns, becoming separated from a parent and leaving children unattended vehicles.

A Hot Topic

It's been exceedingly hot in numerous areas of the country lately. While you should never leave a child unattended in a vehicle for both health and safety reasons regardless of what the weather conditions are, it is particularly vital to be completely mindful of whether your child is in the vehicle during these scorching hot days. It takes only a matter of minutes for hot metal car out in the sun to become a hot metal oven.

In St. Louis, MO, this week a mother and two companions left a 5 month-old infant and 21 month-old twins in a hot car with one window partially down on a day when there was a high heat advisory issued. The trio left the kids in the car to go into a restaurant and place a t0 go order. All three sat and waited for their order, drinking soft drinks and eating an appetizer. Fortunately, witnesses quickly called authorities and these three screaming, dehydrated, sweat drenched kids were rescued.

Clearly, these people knew what they were doing, but didn't care or realize the consequences. Most often it's purely a slip of the mind that causes this kind of catastrophe.

Not Even for a Minute: Children Left Unattended in Vehicles

There but for the Grace of God, Go I: Tips and Websites for Keeping Your Child Safe In and Around Vehicles

Guns Kill

Guns in homes scare me; particularly when there are youngsters in a home. Whether it's your own home, your parents' home or a friend's home, if there are any guns in the home make sure they are all secured. By secure I mean unloaded and locked away in a case that cannot be accessed by little hands.

Also in St. Louis, Lilianna Moore, 3 year-old little girl, found a loaded gun between two mattresses in her home and accidentally shot and killed herself this week. Strangely enough, on the very same day, two other kids were also injured in separate instances, also in St. Louis. These shooting appear to be related to gang activity.

In my opinion, it's not worth the risk to have a gun in your home. I realize that some people don't have a choice, as in the case of law enforcement personnel, etc., but there are ways to ensure that accidental shootings do not happen in your home or anywhere your children are visiting or playing.

The Right to Bear Arms in Your Home: McDonald v. City of Chicago

The Cautious Approach to Life: Tips for Teaching Your Kids Gun Safety

A Parent's Greatest Fear

At what age a child is old enough to be on his or her own walking to a park, a community pool, a friend's house, or in the case of Leibby Kletzky, to meet his mother after leaving a day camp is a decision that each parent and child must determine for themselves, but it's certainly a question on the minds of many parents this week.

Little Leibby's story is almost unspeakable. I read one article that said the fact that we are all shocked about it is a good thing because that means it isn't something that happens often. In my opinion, if even one child is walking down a street, asks a stranger for help with directions and is then stolen away and murdered, as was the case with Leibby, then it is happening too often...period.

Regardless of whether your child becomes separated from you in a public place or doesn't arrive home at the designated time after school or from visiting a friend, etc., you and your child should know what to do in the case of being lost or separated. This is something to be practiced and talked about in a matter-of-fact manner often. This way, if you ever become separated, neither of you will overly panic {at least that is the hope} because you will both know what to do in such a circumstance; and you will know what your child will do, as well.

Holding on Tight: What to Do if Separated from Your Child

The Scoop

My heart breaks each time I hear such horribly sad stories as these. My prayers go out to each family involved in these tragedies. Let information be your sword and shield, and do your best to protect your family through informing and educating them. Over and out...

Anna

The 4th of July Parade: Lessons in History

Memories

My favorite 4^th of July memory is from many, many summers ago. I must have been almost 10 years old. We lived out in the country, in Texas, and our long drive from the road to the house was lined with Pecan trees on both sides. There were probably 20 or more Pecan trees stretching down the gravel drive. My mom's side of the family, from the Texas panhandle, were visiting us: grandma, grandpa, aunts and cousins.

I don't know whose idea it was, but I'm guessing it was my older cousins who thought it would be fun for us to put on a patriotic parade and walk from the road to the house, as if it was a parade route down a street. We all spent hours working on our costumes, scavenging the house to create them. My grandpa, a tall man, made an impressive Abe Lincoln; one cousin dressed as a clown, with face paint and all; another cousin was costumed as Uncle Sam; my brother was a soldier; and I was the Statue of Liberty; the aunts and my grandma were the spectators. Someone must have had a couple of packs of Wrigley's gum because we all tossed foil-covered sticks of gum to our "spectators" who had to keep moving up our "street" along with the parade.

What I remember most of all was the laughter. My mom's family really knows how to laugh; and we laughed and laughed then, and those of us who remain continue to laugh about the time we put on the 4^th of July parade even now. It's funny what sticks out in our memories and what becomes individually symbolic of national holidays.

What IS This All About?

When Darling 1 asked me, "So, what's July 4^th all about?" I decided it was time to write a post about the true meaning of this national holiday. Yes, the fireworks, parades, flags, family gatherings, the hot dog grilling, the red, white and blue banners, hats, t-shirts and more are fun, but there is a deeper meaning to the colorful, fiery explosions in the air. We all know we're celebrating much more than summer fun, but could you/have you explained the details to your kiddos?

The Basics

The 4^th of July is a federal holiday that commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence which declared our independence from Great Britain. Here are a few more details leading up to the adoption and signing of the Declaration of Independence:

• On April 19, 1775, after getting fed up with being oppressed under British control, 70 Massachusetts militiamen armed with guns faced about 700 British soldiers on their way to Concord to destroy the colonists' weapons depot. A shot was fired, and thus began the American Revolution War.

   

• On June 11, 1776, the Continental Congress appointed a committee to draft a declaration of independence. The committee consisted of Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Livingston and Roger Sherman.

   

• Jefferson wrote the first draft; and after Adams and Franklin made some changes, the document was ready to be presented to Congress on June 28, 1776.

   

• On July 2, 1776, twelve of the thirteen colony delegations voted to support the resolution for independence. Only one colony did not vote in favor of this resolution; New York abstained from voting.

   

• On July 4, 1776, the Congress formally endorsed Jefferson's Declaration of Independence.

   

• Although Jefferson, Adams and Franklin later wrote they had signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, many historians maintain it was not signed until August 2, 1776.

   

• It wasn't until 1782 that the American Revolution War actually ended; 6 violent years after the Declaration of Independence was adopted and signed.

Sources: Wikipedia & the History Place

History Trivia

A few interesting tidbits:

• John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were the only signers of the Declaration of Independence to later serve as President of the U.S.

   

• Adams and Jefferson also died on the same day, July 4 1826. They both died on the 50^th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.

   

• James Monroe, 5^th President of the U.S., also died on July 4, 1831.

   

• Only one president has been born on July 4; Thirtieth U.S. President, Calvin Coolidge was born July 4, 1872.

Source: Wikipedia

The Scoop

So, while this holiday is also about family, summer, baseball, barbeques and sparklers, it is also a lesson in determination and perseverance that we should be talking about more with our kids. When I was briefly discussing the Revolution War, the Civil War and the World Wars, Darling 1 said to me, "You've never told me these things before!" And it's true, history is not my forte, and I don't often discuss it with him, but I should. Have a happy and safe Independence Day! Over and out...

Anna

The Cautious Approach to Life: Tips for Teaching Your Kids Gun Safety

The Sibling Difference

While my brother and I have many similar personality traits, I have always been the more cautious one whether it was the first day at a new school; learning to ski; learning to drive; or heading off into the wild blue yonder. I am the older one; the more type A personality. I am not known to take risks. I have taken some career risks and other calculated risks, but I'm certainly no daredevil.

I see the same difference between Darling 1 and Darling 2. While neither one seems to heed any of my requests, warnings or commands, Darling 1 certainly takes note of any dangers I warn of even if he doesn't appear to at the time. I know Darling 1 will always stop to think about the safe option. Darling 2 is another story. He is hell-bent to do whatever it is he has made up his mind to do – there is no stopping him. Darling 2 is quite tall, sturdily built and strong, and there are times he can out-power me, even though he isn't even two yet. I can already tell it's Darling 2 that we will have to watch in particular during his teenage years.

Teaching and Letting Go

You can't be with your kids with every step they take; every experience they encounter; every new person they meet. This is why it's so important to teach them right from wrong; self-respect; leadership skills; and how to be safe in every situation. One particular situation that scares me, especially with boys, is guns that could be in the homes my Darling boys visit as they grow older and go to friends' homes to play. The children in these homes may or may not be aware of the guns; they may not know how to handle a gun; they may not know whether it is real or whether it is loaded; the guns may not be properly stored as to prevent children from finding them and playing with them. But it's my job to educate my Darling Boys about firearms even though there are not any in our home.

The Statistics

The statistics are really scary when it comes to kids and guns. According to pediatrics.about.com injuries caused by firearms are the leading cause of death in children, including unintentional injuries, homicides and suicides. Surprising, isn't it? The following statistics also surprised me.

• Every nine hours a child or teen was killed in a firearm-related accident or suicide in 2005.
• On average, 3 children died every day in non-homicide firearm incidents from 2000-2005.
• In 2005, there were 16,298 kids injured by a firearm -- and an additional 14,052 kids were injured from BB or pellet guns.
• On average in each of the last 10 years, more than 1,000 kids committed suicide with a firearm; 105 were under 15-years-old.

There are also quite a few additional injuries to children caused by non-fatal gun-related injuries. Although gun-related injuries peak in adolescence, they can affect infants and younger children too. Younger children are most likely to be injured, either shooting themselves or a playmate, after playing with a gun that they have found in the home, not realizing that the gun is real or that it's loaded.

It's estimated that guns are in half of all homes in the United States. Although most of these guns are purchased for safety reasons, reports find that firearms in homes are much more likely to kill or injure a family member or friend than an intruder.

Gun Safety Tips

There are several programs aimed at educating children about the dangers of firearms. To name a few: Eddie Eagle, a gun safety program from the National Rifle Association; Kids and Guns, Project ChildSafe; and American Academy of Pediatrics' "Keep Your Family Safe from Firearm Injury" program. These programs may have different approaches, but the desired outcome is the same: to keep kids safe from firearms they may have access to in their homes or someone else's home.

Children are never too young to begin the lessons of safety. Teaching can begin long before the child is old enough to understand detailed instruction. Start by setting a proper and consistent example. If parents treat guns with care and respect, children will likely follow their lead.

It's a serious mistake to assume that keeping children ignorant will prevent accidents. Nothing could be further from the truth. Where firearms are concerned, there is no such thing as blissful ignorance. Keeping youngsters in the dark only insures that they will not understand the potential danger and increases the likelihood that they will seek to satisfy their curiosity without proper supervision. Also, the hazards that the parent wishes to eliminate are greatly increased if the child does not know how firearms function. A study published in the June 2001 issue of Pediatrics proves this point.

In this study, 'Seeing is Believing: What Do Boys Do When They Find a Real Gun?,' 29 groups of boys aged 8-12 years were observed in a room where a gun was hidden. Many of the children found and handled the gun, and half of the children actually pulled the trigger. Interestingly, most of the children that handled the found gun and pulled the trigger had previously received gun safety education.

This study helps to prove that to keep your children safe and prevent firearm related injuries, it's important to restrict their access to guns, either by not having a gun in the home or by storing it properly, which means keeping the gun in a gun safe, lock box, or a locked cabinet or drawer. The gun should also be stored unloaded with the bullets locked separately.

A gun put in a shoe box on the top shelf of a closet is not considered to be a safely stored gun, nor is hiding it any other place you think your child would never find it. Children are naturally curious and if a gun is not stored properly, there is a good chance that a child may find it and injure himself or someone else.

Here are some other key safety steps to take to protect your children:

• Use a gun lock or trigger lock.
• Make sure that your children do not have access to the keys used to lock your guns and bullets.
• Teach your children to not handle guns without adult supervision.
• Avoid letting your children play with realistic toy guns and nonpowder firearms, such as pellet guns, air guns, air rifles and BB guns.

Even if you don't have a gun in your own home, it's important to educate your children about firearm safety in case they discover a gun outside the home or in the homes of their friends. They should know the 4 steps of the Eddie Eagle gun safety program, including:

• Stop!
• Don't Touch.
• Leave the Area.
• Tell an Adult.

These steps are so easy for you to teach and for your child to remember, even if, or especially if, your child is young. You should also discuss gun safety with other parents or family members if your child spends time in their homes (as I plan to do). It's not enough to assume that if they do have guns in the house, they have them stored properly.

If you do decide that you want to get rid of your guns to protect your children, you can look to see if a gun 'buy back' type program is available in your area. Or call the non-emergency number of your local police department and ask if they will pick it up. Additionally, many communities have free gun lock and/or trigger lock give away programs.

Websites

Project ChildSafe has safety information and advocates use of a cable-style gun locking device: http://www.projectchildsafe.org/Websites

Here is a website for kids. It explains the dangers of guns and provides gun safety tips easy enough for kids to understand: http://kidshealth.org/kid/watch/house/gun_safety.html

Kids and Guns is another website with great safety information and current news topics related to guns in the home: http://www.kidsandguns.org/

The Scoop

As the slogan on the website Kids and Guns states, "The child's life you save might be your own." Please take gun safety seriously and do your part to educate your child about gun safety, and if you have a gun in your home, please store it safely.

Do you have a gun in your home? Is it properly stored? How have you educated your kids about guns? Thanks for all the great comments yesterday in regards to Tuesday's post. I welcome all viewpoints as long as they are respectful to other's viewpoints, as well. On Friday, I will post a bit of Motherly Advice. Over and out…

Anna

The Right to Bear Arms in Your Home: McDonald v. City of Chicago

Boys and Weapons

My Darling Boys seem to turn everything into a weapon: a stick or baseball bat can easily be a sword; some Blocks stuck together quickly become a ray gun, etc. We don't expose them to violent situations; we don't watch TV; we don't own weapons of any kind. The Darling Boys do watch children's animated movies though, and if you really pay attention, you will notice there are quite a few weapons and dangerous situations in those movies (think Beauty and the Beast; Madagascar; Bambi and many others). There is also the occasional ray gun or sword in their books too (think Too Many Toys and Peter Pan). Yet there is always a good v. evil theme to stories, movies and life. I think that it's an innate male characteristic to gravitate toward the use of force and aggression. It's how they deal with this need for physical force that makes the experience positive or negative. And for this issue, I read books on parenting boys. On the issue of weapons, Dear Husband and I are a united front.

Liberal Viewpoint

As I stated from the first post of this blog, I tend to lean to the left on the political spectrum. I have tried to present the post topics in a straight up, "just the facts, ma'am" manner. And I think I have done just that. I don't intend to impose my ideals on you, my readers. I will say that our household does not own any guns, or other weapons; we don't hunt; and we don't shoot for sport (meaning clay pigeons and the sort). I have handled guns. I have read about the internal mechanisms of guns; studied about how guns fire; learned about ammunition and the marks left by the gun when it fires. I have viewed my fair share of homicide scene photos of blood spatter and dead bodies. I have heard and read testimony telling of the tragedies caused by gun-wielding individuals. We don't feel the need to "protect" ourselves by owning a gun. I worry about my children visiting friends whose homes do contain guns and how those guns are stored.

Analysis of a Gun Control Case

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision written by Justice Alito handed down an opinion to a case that ultimately limits the amount of authority states and municipalities hold in regulating guns. While the premise of the case and its implications have to do with the 2^nd Amendment, the right to bear arms, the Court's decision in last week's case, McDonald v. City of Chicago, actually determines whether the 2^nd Amendment is included in the 14^th Amendment, thereby making the 2^nd Amendment applicable to the states.

District of Columbia v. Heller

For the Supreme Court's interpretation of the 2^nd Amendment, you have to go back two years to District of Columbia v. Heller, a case that originated out of the DC Circuit. In Heller, the Court struck down a flat ban on handguns that had been enacted in Washington, D.C. This was the first time the Court had found that the Second Amendment guaranteed a personal right to have a gun for self-defense in the home, enforceable against federal laws or those in the federal capital city. Heller nullified that law without saying that it was using a "strict scrutiny" test. Instead it broadly stated that the ban would fail using any constitutional test. Bear in mind, Heller applied only to federal laws.

McDonald v. City of Chicago

At issue in McDonald was a City of Chicago ordinance that provided that "no person shall ... possess ... any firearm unless such person is the holder of a valid registration certificate for such firearm." The Code then prohibited registration of most handguns, thus effectively banning handgun possession by almost all private citizens who reside in the City. Similarly, Oak Park made it "unlawful for any person to possess ... any firearm," a term that includes "pistols, revolvers, guns and small arms ... commonly known as handguns." The Petitioners complained that these laws left them unprotected and defenseless in their homes. The Court held that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment incorporates the Second Amendment right recognized in Heller and sent it back to the Seventh Circuit Court.

A Fundamental Right

The Court did not specifically rule on the constitutionality of the laws at issue, nor did it tell the Seventh Circuit Court what constitutional standard to apply in judging that law when the case returns there. In fact, the Court gave the Seventh Circuit Court judges little guidance on how to analyze these laws at all. What the Court did state is that the right to have a gun for self-defense in the home is a "fundamental" constitutional right. The term "fundamental right" carries a lot of clout when you are talking about the constitution. Generally, if a right is deemed to be fundamental, any law that seeks to limit it will be judged by the stiffest constitutional test there is: it must satisfy "strict scrutiny," meaning that it will be struck down if the government's need for it is not "compelling" and if the approach it takes is not the narrowest possible way to get at the problem. Most laws don't survive strict scrutiny.

Questions Remain

In his dissent, Justice Breyer noted, "countless gun regulations of many shapes and sizes are in place in every state and in many local communities." He then catalogued some of the questions that will now arise as many of those laws are tested: "Does the right to possess weapons for self-defense extend outside the home? To the car? To work? What sort of guns are necessary for self-defense? Handguns? Rifles? Semi-automatic weapons? When is a gun semi-automatic? Where are different kinds of weapons likely needed? Does time-of-day matter? Does the presence of a child in the house matter? Does the presence of a convicted felon in the house matter? Do police need special rules permitting patdowns designed to find guns? When do registration requirements become severe to the point that they amount to an unconstitutional ban? Who can possess guns and of what kind? Aliens? Prior drug offenders? Prior alcohol abusers? How would the right interact with a state or local government's ability to take special measures during, say, national security emergencies?…These are only a few uncertainties that quickly come to mind."

And to this, Justice Alito responded, that "the right it was newly protecting was not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose." And Alito repeated, from the Heller opinion, the assurance that "our holding did not cast doubt on such longstanding regulatory measures as 'prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill,' 'laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms."

The Scoop

While the Heller decision was profoundly important for finding in the Second Amendment an individual right to own a gun, it applies to federal laws. The vast number of laws that seek to regulate gun possession and use are those enacted at the state and local levels, not by the federal government. So, it will be interesting to watch this issue as the lower courts test and flesh out what the Court actually means by the McDonald decision. On Wednesday, I will post tips on gun safety in the home. Over and out…

Anna