Philip S. Dedig – 3/27/13

This page was last updated on March 29, 2013.

States should determine gun laws; Philip S. Dedig; Beaver County Times; March 27, 2013.

Mr. Dedig has written at least 21 letters since February 2008. Among those letters, Mr. Dedig supported the proposed federal gasoline tax holiday, Hillary Clinton for President, complained about “business as usual” (“Business as usual in D.C.,” 6/17/08) in Washington, DC, regarding energy, opposed offshore drilling, said Democrat voters deserve better candidates (“Local Democratic voters merit better,” 8/22/08), supported “bailing out Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae” (“Fed, Treasury had to move;” 9/30/08), told us we had “No choice but to help auto makers,” told us “College costs must be made affordable,” supported the $787 billion “stimulus” package (here and here), told us “U.S. can afford health care for all,” and claimed “U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire is a Republican in sheep’s clothing.” Mr. Dedig’s most recent previous letters were “Obama policies working,” “Recovery on the way,” “Pipeline not good idea,” “Energy policy long overdue,” and “Obama caves in far too easily.” If it’s a leftist position, Mr. Dedig supports it.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“The 113th Congress of the United States should repeal the Second Amendment of the Constitution and allow individual states and cities determine their own gun laws.”

[RWC] Congress cannot “repeal the Second Amendment of the Constitution.” As per Article V of the U.S. Constitution, there are two paths for an amendment. Congress may propose an amendment with at least two-thirds of the votes in each house. Alternatively, a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the states may propose an amendment. In either case, at least 75% (currently 38) of the state legislatures or state conventions must ratify the proposed amendment. The President has no constitutional role in the process.

Note the states can amend the Constitution without the agreement of Congress or the President. This is yet another example of the Founding Fathers’ intent for the states and the people to have supremacy over the federal government.

“The level of violence is far greater in Chicago than the entire state of Wyoming and it makes sense that Chicago would need stronger gun laws than states like Wyoming.”

[RWC] Though some are unconstitutional, Chicago has had far “stronger gun laws” for decades. According to U.S. News & World Report, Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse reported Northern Illinois ranked last out of 90 jurisdictions “in prosecutions of federal weapons crimes per capita last year [2012].” Perhaps before calling for new laws, we should try enforcing the constitutional laws already in place. As I’ve written before, the very people who acquire firearms for nefarious purposes don’t care about gun-control laws. I’ll go out on a limb and guess most criminals already violate our existing firearm laws. All more-restrictive laws will do is cut purchases by law-abiding citizens and/or turn law-abiding citizens into criminals when they bypass new laws.

“The Second Amendment was written more than 200 years ago, and our founding fathers could not foresee conditions today. Times change and federal, state and local government need legislation to protect its citizens.”

[RWC] Mr. Dedig has it exactly backwards and needs a refresher course on the purpose of the Second Amendment. Please read my critiques of “A shaky ladder” and “Time for talking is over, gun control now” for more info on this topic.

“There are too many guns in circulation (300 million) and too many annual deaths by guns (30,000). This is one reason America is viewed as a violent nation and its citizens are obsessed with guns.”

[RWC] No one really knows how many firearms are owned by private citizens. If “300 million” are too many for Mr. Dedig, how many are just right? Mr. Dedig’s “annual deaths by guns (30,000)” appears to include suicides. According to the FBI, there were 8,583 murders with firearms in 2011.

“Just maybe one of these days, America will be viewed as a superpower with super citizens who are peace-loving and non-violent.”

[RWC] What is it with lefties constantly worrying about what others think of the U.S.? We have to do what we believe is best and not worry about what others think of us.