Next Tuesday is primary day in Missouri. While self isn't as well informed as he could be about all the issues on the ballot, he's planning regardless to do what most people in the state won't do next Tuesday, namely show up and vote. This is mainly because of one issue, Amendment 5, which reads, per the MO Sec. of State's website:
"Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to include a declaration that the right to keep and bear arms is a unalienable right and that the state government is obligated to uphold that right?"
3CM plans to vote "no" on this one, not that my one vote will make much difference. Given that this is MO, it'll probably pass. The long-shot hope, of course, is that many thousands of others in MO will have the sense to vote "no" as well. The bigger meta issue there is voting at all, of course. More, such as it is, below the flip.....
If you wonder about 3CM's pessimism on Amendment 5, Alex Stuckey in the Post-Dispatch has this article about it, where he notes that in the MO legislature:
"During this past session, the Senate passed the measure 23-8 and the House passed it 122-31."
The full text of the amendment is
here.
"That the right of every citizen to keep and bear arms, ammunition and accessories typical to the normal function of such arms, in defense of his home, person, family and property, or when lawfully summoned in the aid of civil power, shall not be questioned. The rights guaranteed by this section shall be unalienable. Any restriction on these rights shall be subject to strict scrutiny and the state of Missouri shall be obligated to uphold these rights and shall under no circumstances decline to protect against their infringement. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the general assembly from enacting general laws which limit the rights of convicted violent felons or those adjudicated by a court to be a danger to self or others as a result of a mental disorder or infirmity."
You might note a sentence that was taken out:
"...but this shall not justify the wearing of concealed weapons"
Stuckey gives the summary of the amendment earlier in the article:
"Amendment 5 would declare the right to keep and bear arms 'unalienable' and subject to laws restricting gun rights to 'strict scrutiny.' Under the amendment, residents would have the right to keep ammunition and accessories, as well as the right to defend their families with firearms - now that right is limited to defending home, property and person.
The amendment also would repeal wording that states that the right to bear arms does not justify carrying concealed weapons.
Lawmakers could still pass laws limiting the rights of convicted violent felons and people with mental illnesses under the measure."
Amendment 5's sponsor is State Senator Kurt Schaefer (R - gun-nut idiot, of course; Columbia). One of the opponents is St. Louis city police chief Sam Dotson, where Stuckey's article summarizes Chief Dotson's concerns:
'If everyone, including criminals, had 'unalienable' gun rights, Dotson fears prosecutors would be less likely to take a case involving criminal gun possession and juries would be less likely to convict."
Ray Hartmann, in St. Louis Magazine, sums it up in his
recent column "Indecent Proposals":
'3. Senate Joint Resolution No. 36
This proposed legislation declares that “the right to keep and bear arms is an unalienable right and that the state government is obligated to uphold that right.”
Why it sounds like a great idea, in four words or less: God loves our guns.
First question normal people might want to ask themselves: Are they finally admitting the Second Amendment doesn’t actually do this and that the militia clause actually means gun ownership isn’t an unalienable right that can never be regulated?
Details of interest only to people who read: A joint letter from Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker and St. Louis Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce to Speaker of the House Tim Jones warned that “the only ones that stand to benefit from this measure are gang members, drug dealers, domestic abusers, and other criminals.” Or as NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre likes to call them, “decent American firearms owners.” The amendment would remove any restriction on concealed weapons and proudly declare that gun rights are inalienable, and “any restriction on these rights shall be subject to strict scrutiny, and the state of Missouri shall be obligated to uphold these rights and shall under no circumstances decline to protect against their infringement.” Your ammunition and accessories would now be protected from the government, just like your guns. The bill does stop short of requiring that all Missouri residents pack heat - but not by much.
Worst consequence of passage: In a state in which a majority of voters rejected concealed carry as recently as 15 years ago, this legislation would chill any sort of sane gun-control measures for all time. As if the NRA needed any help.'
One wonders what would happen with all the private establishments in town that say that concealed weapons are prohibited on the premises, or if a Second Amendment fundie nut (or here Amendment 5 fundie nut) would go up to to the manager of such an establishment demanding an explanation of why he can't pack heat in a restaurant, the zoo, a grocery store, or a movie theater. In all honesty, that type of scenario is pretty unlikely in real life. But when it comes to guns and dumb people, all it takes is one.
And this is just one dumb constitutional amendment on next Tuesday's ballot to talk about, never mind the others. As I said, I'm not optimistic that enough MO voters who bother to show up for a primary will be able to defeat Amendment 5. Granted, I also thought that the "legitimate rape" idiot would become MO's next US senator back in 2012, where I was quite happy to be wrong on that one, in that enough MO voters at least had minimal brain power to split their tickets and vote against Akin, if for Romney. If I'm wrong and Amendment 5 loses, unlikely as it seems, then good on MO.
With that cheery thought, time for the usual SNLC protocol, namely your loser stories of the week......