Second Amendment: Past, Present, and Future

Please Join me on Thursday, October 29 at 7:00 p.m. at Kaufman Auction House, 3149 SR 39 at the Holmes County Expo Center where I will be speaking on Second Amendment issues. You can also join me at upcoming townhalls on October 28 at 7:00 p.m. at Timber Run Grange, 4000 West Pike, Zanesville or November 10 at 6:00 p.m. at Cassell Station Fire Department, 4500 Peters Creek Road, Cambridge.

Sometimes in life you get to do incredible things like be a small part of history in the making. I got to do just that as an author of an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court case of District of Columbia v. Dick A. Heller. This case was the first time in U.S. history that the Court interpreted the scope and meaning of the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. I wrote my brief on behalf of similarly situated Ohio Concealed Permit Holders and the U.S. Bill of Rights Foundation of which Dick Heller, the named Plaintiff, was a member.

We, in America, often take our rights and freedoms for granted. The Heller case protected our constitutional rights by a one-vote margin. Thereby highlighting the fact that judicial appointments have important and long-lasting impacts on the laws of our Nation. The nine U.S. Supreme Court Justices are appointed for life. Their decisions and philosophy regarding the role of the judiciary have far-reaching, long-term impacts.

The Heller Court stated “”[I]t is not the role of this Court to pronounce the Second Amendment extinct.” The Court determined that “people,” as contained within the Bill of Rights means the class of persons who are part of a national community. “Keep” means to possess and “bear” means to carry. Thus, the Bill of Rights guarantees the individual right to possess and carry weapons in the case of confrontation.

This right, as contained in the Second Amendment, protected a pre-existing right. Thus, we, as individuals, had this right prior to the Bill of Rights, however, the Second Amendment ensured it would not be “infringed.”

The Court found that the D.C. law which acted as a prohibition “in the place where the importance of lawful defense of self, family, and property is most acute” (our homes) violates the Second Amendment.

My brief noted that it was due to overreaching governmental intrusion that the laws of our nation were formed. “The right to keep and bear arms was fundamental among these. Our founders deemed it so important that this right was placed at number two in the Bill of Rights. How can an individual be free if he is unable to secure his own home? Never did the founding fathers intend our citizenry to be reliant on an overreaching, all inclusive government to protect our individual rights. Rather, the powers of the government were to be limited so that the government served the people, not that the people served the government.”

Further, the right of a man to retreat into his own home and there be free from unreasonable governmental intrusion had been protected by the Supreme Court in prior decisions. This is consistent with our English history that noted that a man’s home is his castle. Ohio’s Castle Doctrine, as passed in an amendment to our Concealed Carry law, went into effect on June 10, 2008 thereby protecting the right of Ohioans to protect their family, self, and home.

Now, a year after the Heller decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has decided to hear the landmark case of McDonald v. Chicago. This case will decide the application of the Second Amendment to the states. The McDonald case has major implications relating to the legality of restrictive gun laws in Chicago and other cities across America. The Supreme Court’s decision to hear the case, to be argued early next year, gives Second Amendment supporters the hope that this fundamental freedom will not be infringed by unreasonable state and local laws.

Paid for by Moll for Congress

Upcoming Townhalls – Please come and invite friends!

After the sucess of our townhall meeting on health care, I’ve decided to expand the concept. Please join me for an upcoming townhall where you’ll have the opportunity to express your concerns regarding the path on which our current leaders are taking us.

October 22 – Newcomerstown – 6:00 p.m. at April’s Country Kitch’n, 640 Heller Drive.

October 28 – Zanesville- 7:00 p.m. at Timber Run Grange, 4000 West Pike.

November 10 – Cambridge – 6:00 p.m. at Cassell Station Fire Department, 4500 Peters Creek Road.

E-mail Info@MollForCongress.org for more details.

Congressional Constitutional SideStep

Our constitutional rights are under attack in the U.S. Congress. Our nation’s Constitution includes a limited role for the federal government and the protection of individual rights. Pending legislation jeopardizes these constitutional truths. In fact, just this week, Congressman Zack Space teamed up with others who are on a path to reduce our Constitutional rights by passing Hate Crimes legislation. This proposed law would elevate crimes against certain classes of victims.

First and foremost, this is an unconstitutional expansion of federal government by infringing on the rights of the states under the 10th Amendment. Our state and local governments are well suited to pass and enforce laws relating to criminal behavior. Congress lacks the authority to federalize responsibility that is within the constitutional authority and competence of the states. In fact, the case after which the legislation is named resulted in the murderers being sentenced to double life sentences without a hate crimes law in place and without federal intervention.

Secondly, this law would give disparate treatment to victims based on classifications in violation of the 14th Amendment that provides that all citizens receive equal protection under the law. In justice and equity, a crime is no more wrong against one person than another. We are all equal under the law and deserve to be treated accordingly. Yet, this law would provide for higher intensity of investigation, prosecution, and penalty for crimes against someone within the preferred classes thereby inferring that others are unworthy of the same protection.

Moreover, the classes include those who practice lifestyles contrary to traditional biblical teachings. Thus, pastors and others who preach or teach against the same risk being charged under the law. Although the law’s supporters state it is limited to bodily harm, bodily harm can include the physical manifestations of speech. Thus, the law restricts constitutionally protected 1st Amendment rights of free speech and freedom of religion. In fact, other nations that have passed similar laws have used the same to limit the reading of the Bible.

Additionally, this law infringes upon the separation of church and state that our founding fathers envisioned, not as interpreted by some Courts. Such separation is not contained within the Constitution. Rather, it is included in a letter which sets forth that our nation was founded to allow individuals to practice religious freedom without governmental interference. Laws that control what is spoken from the pulpit put in place governmental controls that are contrary to such principles. A violation of the 1st Amendment freedom of religion.

Republican leader John Boehner has called the legislation radical social policy noting that “The idea that we’re going to pass a law that’s going to add further charges to someone based on what they may have been thinking, I think is wrong.” The measure creates a class of thought crimes.

And as if violating their oath of office to the Constitution was not enough, the measure was tacked on to an essential military policy bill. Congressman Todd Akin of Missouri stated “We believe this is a poison pill, poisonous enough that we refuse to be blackmailed into voting for a piece of social agenda that has no place in this bill.” The U.S. Senate has yet to approve the bill but that is expected shortly with the President in support of the hate crimes provision.

It has been said that we have no 1st Amendment without the 2nd Amendment. Moreover, our military has laid down their lives for our Constitutional freedoms. Thus, it is unbelievable that a measure that stomps on the Constitution is included in the legislation that funds our troops. “It is simply wrong,” stated Congressman Mike Pence, “to use a bill designed to support our troops to reverse the very freedoms for which they fight.”

Our nation’s laws must be grounded on the Constitution to which each officeholder has a duty to follow and uphold. Here in the 18th district, Zack Space has once again voted contrary to his Constitutional duty and responsibility. It’s time to tell him enough is enough!

Paid for by Moll for Congress

Drawing A Line in the Sand

Our Nation’s first President, George Washington, noted the Constitution and the laws made under it must mark the line of conduct for our leaders such that the Federal government does not have unlimited power.

Washington clearly understood that our Constitution draws a line in the sand that no individual has the authority to cross because America is a constitutional republic. Thus, our nation is a state where officials are elected as representatives of the people and must govern according to existing constitutional law that limits the government’s power. This is done through separation of powers that includes three distinct branches of government and where the will of the majority is tempered by the protection of individual rights. It is constitutional in that there are limitations set by our Constitution, and a republic due to the election of leaders and judicial review.

A democracy is a form of government in which supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them either directly or indirectly through representatives usually through elections. A pure democracy places power in the collective group without limitations such as those provided by a constitution. Alternatively, in a republic, power is placed in the individual and individual rights whereby the government secures the individual rights that cannot be taken away by the majority.

George Washington stated, “The power under the Constitution will always be in the people. It is entrusted for certain defined purposes, and for a certain limited period, to representatives of their own choosing: and whenever it is executed contrary to their interest, or not agreeable to their wishes, their servants can, and undoubtedly will, be recalled.” Thus, whether elected or appointed, our governmental leaders must never lose sight of the Constitution and their duty to safeguard the people’s rights as individuals as contained therein. Our leaders rely upon the consent of the governed and such consent can be withdrawn.

It is with this in mind that we must view the path that the President and Congress have set for our Nation. This path has recently included the governmental control of private enterprise as seen in the auto industry. This nationalization has been at the expense of individual rights and the limited federal government envisioned in our Nation’s founding. To understand the impact of this please check out the powerful congressional testimony of Tres Blankenbeckler at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xLXLhSssp0

Now Congress and the President seem intent in taking over one sixth of the economy through governmental expansion and takeover of healthcare. This massive expansion of the Federal government into the day-to-day lives and decisions of the American people is not the answer. Our Nation was founded on the principles that have differentiated us from the United Kingdom and the tyranny of the British King. Despite this, we are embarked on a path that has proven to be detrimental in other nations. This is clearly enunciated by Daniel Hannan, a Member of the European Parliament, who notes that it is amazing “that a free people…citizens of a country founded on the principle of independence…should be contemplating…a system like this, which puts the power of life and death in a state bureaucracy.” He points out that such a system is “deeply un-American.” See http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,539273,00.html

It is time to restore leadership to our Nation that understands the significance of our Nation’s historical founding and the Constitution. I am proud to have been endorsed by the Liberty Committee on the basis of the same. Having previously served about ten years on the bench as a Magistrate, I was never reversed on appeal due to my judicial philosophy of strict construction. Additionally, I have received national recognition from the NRA as one of the attorneys who represented Second Amendment rights before the U.S. Supreme Court in an amicus brief filed on behalf of similarly situated Ohio concealed carry permit holders and the U.S. Bill of Rights Foundation.  I seek your support in providing Constitutionally based leadership in the 18th District.

Paid for by Moll for Congress

Healthcare Townhall News

Last Friday I held a Healthcare Townhall in New Philadelphia. Thanks to many of you, it was a tremendous success. There were concerned citizens from throughout the 18th District including Tuscarawas, Carroll, Muskingum, Guernsey, Coshocton, and Holmes counties. In all, more than 400 people showed up and dozens let their voices and concerns be heard.

I held the townhall because Zack Space and other liberals in Congress are attempting to force a massive new bureaucracy on us in the form of government-run health care. They seem intent on doing so in the same manner that they passed the harmful cap and trade bill – without hearing from or considering their constituents.

In fact, instead of holding a townhall in his District, Zack Space choose to use our tax dollars to fly to the other side of the world. While other members of congress held townhalls, Zack Space got as far away from you as he could get. But no matter how far he flies, Zack Space can’t get away from his liberal voting record. He talks moderate in Ohio and then votes with San Francisco liberal Nancy Pelosi.

There are many things that we can agree on when talking about healthcare including: 1. making healthcare more affordable and accessible; 2. allowing Americans to keep coverage they like; 3. letting Doctors and patients make healthcare decisions, not bureaucrats; and 4. improving American lives through wellness, prevention, and disease management. These goals can be accomplished without the expansion of the Federal government. We need healthcare that is: 1. Market-driven not government-run; 2. Patient-centered not bureaucrats in charge of medical decision as to what treatments and prescriptions an individual is eligible for; 3. Quality-focused not quantity-focus; 4. Lower costs not higher deficits due to an additional $1 trillion in new spending; and 5. Job-friendly not a job-killer that puts up to 5 million jobs at risk.

H.R. 3200, as voted on by Zack Space in committee, has numerous problems contained with its’ 1000+ pages which amount to a pile of chaos. The bill will leave an estimated 34 percent of the uninsured without coverage. For the first time in our Nation’s history, the IRS will provide individual tax records to other agencies without the knowledge and consent of the individual. The bill expands the federal government by creating a new executive branch agency named the Health Choices Administration.

The bill includes over a 1000 mandates including pay or play that amounts to an 8% tax on employers and a 2.5% tax on individuals. The bill will double the healthcare costs of the uninsured. The bill will disproportionately affect seniors who comprise 17% of the population but consume 40% of healthcare services. The bill cuts $500 billion from Medicare over a 5 year period (note that most of the cuts occur AFTER the next Presidential election). Americans will lose private insurance and employer-based coverage. Doctors will see a decline in their payments and hospital incomes will fall.

We spoke at the Townhall about the need for: 1. tort reform to eliminate the costs associated with defensive medicine; 2. extending tax savings to those without employer provided insurance; 3. allowing small business to band together; 4. portability, not tying health insurance to jobs; 5. purchasing insurance across state lines; 6. transparency in costs; and other solutions.

We are preparing the video to send to Congressman Space so he can’t ignore his constituents any longer. Since he refused to meet with you, we’ll send your comments and concerns on to him. We live a representative form of government where the concerns of the citizenry are to shape the policy and direction of our Nation. It is a shame that our Congressman is failing in his responsibilities.

Thursday, there will be a Townhall across from Zack Space’s Zanesville office at the Muskingum County Courthouse. I look forward to speaking there. I’ll also be addressing our lack of representation, in addition to Cap and Tax and Healthcare reform, at the Zoar TEA Party this weekend. I’d love to have you come out and join me.