May 09, 2010

NYT: No Due Process for Second Amendment Rights

The New York Times has an editorial arguing that the people's Second Amendment rights should be able to be taken away without the protection of due process.
Congress, for example, is cowering before the gun lobby insistence that even terrorist suspects who are placed on the “no-fly list” must not be denied the right to buy and bear arms.
What the Times leaves unmentioned is there is no due process afforded those placed on the no fly list. This has even led to the detention of 5 year olds by the TSA. The editorial goes on to note that "[s]uspects on that list purchased more than 1,100 weapons in the last six years." These people committed no crimes and they are not suspected of doing so. Moreover, the statistic shows that the government is aware of gun purchases made by those on the no fly list. This is made even more troubling by the number of names on the no fly list: a million plus. Does the New York Times really crave a society in which the federal government can restrict the constitutional rights of citizens who have committed no crimes?