Oh, lord, I missed this the first time.
Quote:
here are some people who believe that all gun control measures violate the Second Amendment to the Constitution. This belief is not consistent with constitutional law. The United States Supreme Court in 1980 held in Lewis v. United States that "legislative restrictions on the use of firearms do not trench upon any constitutionally protected liberties." The federal government may regulate the ownership of firearms, and such regulation is vital to curbing violence.
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He's actually bringing up Lewis? The fools never provide the context for that quote, so I will address that failing:
http://www.constitution.org/ussc/445-055a.htm
LEWIS v. UNITED STATES, 445 U.S. 55 (1980)
George Calvin Lewis was convicted of being a prior felon who received a firearm.
Quote:
...
The firearm regulatory scheme at issue here is consonant with the concept of equal protection embodied in the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment if there is "some `rational basis' for the statutory distinctions made . . . or . . . they `have some relevance to the purpose for which the classification is made.'" Marshall v. United States, 414 U.S. 417, 422 (1974), quoting from McGinnis v. Royster, 410 U.S. 263, 270 (1973), and Baxstrom v. Herold, 383 U.S. 107, 111 (1966). See Vance v. Bradley, 440 U.S. 93, 97 (1979).[8] [445 U.S. 55, 66]
Section 1202 (a) (1) clearly meets that test. Congress, as its expressed purpose in enacting Title VII reveals, 18 U.S.C. App. 1201, was concerned that the receipt and possession of a firearm by a felon constitutes a threat, among other things, to the continued and effective operation of the Government of the United States. ...
[Footnote 8] These legislative restrictions on the use of firearms are neither based upon constitutionally suspect criteria, nor do they trench upon any constitutionally protected liberties. See United States v. Miller, 307 U.S. 174, 178 (1939) (the Second Amendment guarantees no right to keep and bear a firearm that does not have "some reasonable relationship to [445 U.S. 55, 66] the preservation or efficiency of a well regulated militia"); United States v. Three Winchester 30-30 Caliber Lever Action Carbines, 504 F.2d 1288, 1290, n. 5 (CA7 1974); United States v. Johnson, 497 F.2d 548 (CA4 1974); Cody v. United States, 460 F.2d 34 (CA8), cert. denied, 409 U.S. 1010 (1972) (the latter three cases holding, respectively, that 1202 (a) (1), 922 (g), and 922 (a) (6) do not violate the Second Amendment).
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It's quite true that felon-in-possession laws have been ruled constitutional. Leaving out the "These" from the footnote, referring back to felon-in-possession laws, is dishonesty of the first water.
I find it telling that the good Congressman seems to classify all of us as felons, ineligible to possess firearms.