Reply #77

In the discussion thread: Scalia: Hand-held Rocket Launchers Probably Protected Under Second Amendment [View all]

Sun Jul 29, 2012, 11:37 PM

77. So you are maintaining that

communication today is the same as the 18th century??? Why do we call this the information age?
In 1799 if you wanted to tell someone an idea you had to physically speak to them, send a letter that would take days, weeks or more, or write a book or pamphlet and try to get it to your audience.
Here we can be on opposite sides of the world and communicate as if we sat next to each other.

So what changed? The technology.

If you wanted to shoot a gun in 1799 you had to load a musket with powder and ball, then fire it. Today you load a magazine and fire it.

So what changed? The technology.

The act of shooting has changed because it can be done at a much higher rate and greater lethality.

The act of communicating has changed because it can be done at a much higher rate and to a greater audience.

It could easily be that the 2nd amendment would have been worded differently had such weapons existed.

I do agree, but that can be said for any part of the Constitution. If they could see what a mess our Presidential elections are, they may never have written in the Electoral College, but they did, so we have it.

Believe it or not, the Constitution was the product of men living in the context of their time. It did not come down from a mountain engraved on stone tablets by the finger of God.

You do realize this is my argument? The principles can be applied to things the founders cannot have imagined, as we cannot imagine what our country will look like in another 200+years.
And yes, the document can be changed- that is why it is the Second Amendment

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81 replies	Author	Time	Post
Scalia: Hand-held Rocket Launchers Probably Protected Under Second Amendment [View all]	Bolo Boffin	Jul 2012	OP
Nice restriction, Scalia, you Liberty Hater	alcibiades_mystery	Jul 2012	#1
Mmm, vehicle-held rocket-launcher bagged pheasant.	Bolo Boffin	Jul 2012	#5
Shoulder fired stinger missiles are essential to the success of our small business.	Zorra	Jul 2012	#7
personal nukes	C_U_L8R	Jul 2012	#2
Commenter at Think Progress: if suitcase nukes are outlawed...	Bolo Boffin	Jul 2012	#3
i just wanted to add this picture	d_r	Jul 2012	#37
Hand grenades can be carried easily	gollygee	Jul 2012	#4
"We'll see!" n/t	Bolo Boffin	Jul 2012	#6
He might be	warrior1	Jul 2012	#8
This post was hidden by jury decision.	lark	Jul 2012	#40
You can already legally own a grenade launcher	justanidea	Jul 2012	#9
Well then, that's a-okay!!	Patiod	Jul 2012	#10
Just pointing out that such weapons are already legal to own.	Kaleva	Jul 2012	#35
Has a Form 4 application ever been approved for a Stinger? I mean, aside from al-Qaeda to own them.	leveymg	Jul 2012	#54
Depends on how the ATF classifies the Stinger	Kaleva	Jul 2012	#58
What prey exactly might one hunt with such hand-held devices? F-16 Falcons? Airbuses?	leveymg	Jul 2012	#61
True	Reasonable_Argument	Jul 2012	#47
:: groan:::	Coexist	Jul 2012	#11
Scalia also said that legislatures can regulate handheld guns. nt	hack89	Jul 2012	#20
IED's are covered, then?	elehhhhna	Jul 2012	#12
If it fits in your Creator-made hand, it's your Creator-given right to own one. n/t	Bolo Boffin	Jul 2012	#15
does this also mean bans on fireworks are unconstitutional?	elehhhhna	Jul 2012	#16
Well, of course!	Bolo Boffin	Jul 2012	#18
As long as you have the proper paperwork, you can own one.	Kaleva	Jul 2012	#38
Certainly they are regulated by zoning rules?	Baitball Blogger	Jul 2012	#13
Local ordinances can apply to firearms too.	Kaleva	Jul 2012	#39
what an ego tony has, just can't stay off the teevee	spanone	Jul 2012	#14
Wannabe "Jokers" are getting excited.	DCBob	Jul 2012	#17
Instead of banning rocket launchers - they'll ban copies of "The Dark Knight" instead .	Initech	Jul 2012	#42
Scalia: Guns May be Regulated	hack89	Jul 2012	#19
And yet, I bet he's not a fan of this song.	tanyev	Jul 2012	#21
No one is a fan of that song.	appal_jack	Jul 2012	#25
I'm a fan	blues lover	Jul 2012	#36
Me too!	derby378	Jul 2012	#75
It's been legal for decades to own a hand held rocket or grenade launcher	Kaleva	Jul 2012	#22
"Amen, brother. I don't go anywhere without my mutated anthrax ... for duck hunting."	toddwv	Jul 2012	#23
National Raygun Association I saw the Professor there...........	kooljerk666	Jul 2012	#34
What's so difficult to understand about "we'll see" and "that will have to be decided"?	-..__...	Jul 2012	#24
Invented hysteria, outrage and fear-mongering....	PavePusher	Jul 2012	#28
What about nuclear weapons?	no_hypocrisy	Jul 2012	#26
Depends on the yield.	-..__...	Jul 2012	#29
It would have to come with	sarisataka	Jul 2012	#45
Ahhh, the "couldn't imagine it, so it doesn't apply" school of Constitutional Denialism.	PavePusher	Jul 2012	#27
See post upthread re: "common sense"	The Blue Flower	Jul 2012	#31
The point is	sarisataka	Jul 2012	#46
We have had this argument	quaker bill	Jul 2012	#76
So you are maintaining that	sarisataka	Jul 2012	#77
Article 5. Have at it. n/t	PavePusher	Jul 2012	#79
Does that mean?	kentuck	Jul 2012	#30
You never did have to hide it.	Kaleva	Jul 2012	#33
No serious originalist (and certainly not Scalia) has the view you ascribe to Scalia.	Vattel	Jul 2012	#32
Neither does anyone else who treasures our Constitutional rights	derby378	Jul 2012	#51
Allow me to introduce you to Scalia's reasoning on the 14th Amendment	Bolo Boffin	Jul 2012	#52
Scalia doesn understand that Bear means "bring to bear"	slampoet	Jul 2012	#41
Aha, you either commune with the dead or claim great age.	Marengo	Jul 2012	#43
The headline is false.	former9thward	Jul 2012	#44
OH, you really must find another hobby	Bolo Boffin	Jul 2012	#53
Yet again you can't repond with facts.	former9thward	Jul 2012	#59
Lighten up, Francis.	Bolo Boffin	Jul 2012	#60
I want a hand-held rocket launcher for Christmas. I want it in pink	Rosa Luxemburg	Jul 2012	#48
Me, too! But make mine forest green	derby378	Jul 2012	#49
Woohoo I can get something like this	nadinbrzezinski	Jul 2012	#50
Of course they meant rocket launchers. Rockets are in the Star Spangled Banner!	Bolo Boffin	Jul 2012	#55
Political Cartoon:	RedStateLiberal	Jul 2012	#56
Actually, he's wrong about the 2nd amendment: it allows qualified citizens to	apocalypsehow	Jul 2012	#57
Now that you've set the Wayback Machine for 1994...	derby378	Jul 2012	#62
Like Dred Scott or Plessey v. Ferguson, that ruling is not destined to last.	apocalypsehow	Jul 2012	#63
Even a busted clock is right twice a day	derby378	Jul 2012	#64
Your right to join a National Guard, if you qualify, is indeed here to stay.	apocalypsehow	Jul 2012	#65
Sorry, it's been interpreted correctly the first time	derby378	Jul 2012	#67
Nope, and once a progressive majority gets on the court it will be reinterpreted	apocalypsehow	Jul 2012	#69
No, it isn't...	derby378	Jul 2012	#70
Baloney, to your entire reply. But you go right on thinking whatever you wish.	apocalypsehow	Jul 2012	#71
Perhaps I should eat something in the meantime?	derby378	Jul 2012	#72
It must have been rough in post revolutionary America	sarisataka	Jul 2012	#74
Celebrate the independence of our country by blowing up a small part of it.	Initech	Jul 2012	#66
This is a silly distraction. Because there is no law explicitly prohibiting citizens from owning...	slackmaster	Jul 2012	#68
Maybe.	moondust	Jul 2012	#73
Wait.. thats descrimination!	quakerboy	Jul 2012	#78
But he's for strict adherence to the original constitution of 1787	DFW	Jul 2012	#80
This mother fucker is BAT SHIT CRAZY!!!!	bigdarryl	Jul 2012	#81

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