It's In The Constitution So It Is The Law!!!!

The Bill of Rights......The amendments to the constitution are part of the constitution, right? Right!. So they all apply to everyone in every state, Right?.....Wrong! Or to use a term lawyers often use...."Maybe!"

You see, many of the rights contained in the first ten amendments to the constitution have never been applied to the states. The most notable is the so-called right to bear arms under the 2nd Amendment. The U.S. Supreme Court has never held the right to keep and bare arms as a fundamental right. OK, confused?....lets back up.

In the early days, there were supreme court judges who felt that all of the amendments ought to apply equally to the states and be enforced upon the states therein limiting the states power to enact rules differently. However, the majority of the justices felt the amendments should be selectively applied to the states and "only those rights held fundamental in the scheme of ordered liberty" should apply. You see, the Bill of Rights, the amendments to the constitution only apply to the federal government. And initially, only the federal courts applied them.

Over time, the court settled on the concept that the due process clause of the 14th Amendment was the vehicle used to apply any of the amendments to the states. The 2nd Amendment has never been found to be "fundamental" leaving the states to enact any laws they wish in the control of guns. In 2008 the Heller decision came as close as any case has in finding that a individual person had a right to possess a gun. Many believe this is a ruling which forces the states to adhere to the rights afforded under the 2nd Amendment. But, the Heller decision does not go far enough, in my opinion, to hold that view. While it made it clear that gun possession was a right that is individual, it also said the states can enact reasonable restrictions related to gun ownership. Heller also did not say the 2nd Amendment right to keep and bare arms was FUNDAMENTAL. In not so ruling, it is left open whether or not the 2nd Amendment is controlling.

So, ..... the bottom line is that not all so-called rights contained within the Bill of Rights applies or limits state action. Only those the Supreme Court has held to be a fundamental right. A fact many gun right proponents forget or never knew. The big ticket items like freedom of speech and the press, unreasonable search, the right to a lawyer when being questioned by the police, reasonable bail, etc. apply to all present in this country. But before you proudly proclaim a right found in the Bill of Rights as yours and the local police violated it, better check and see if it applies to state officers and to you!.....It might not