Re: Gun Control - Should Ordinary Citizens be allowed to Own, Carry, & Use Firearms?
Reply #583 –
This has gotten rather far from gun-control, but as long as we're here anyway:
One big issue in every Presidential election is the make-up of the Supreme Court. The President appoints people to fill vacancies to the court, the Congress either accepts or rejects these appointees, and the newly-minted Justices sit on the Court until they either retire or die in office-- whichever comes first. In a Court that's nearly split between Conservative and Liberal Justices, the election of a Democrat or a Republican President makes a big difference. A President could serve two terms in office, and in eight years can make appointments that could swing the Court heavily one way or the other for nearly a lifetime to come.
The President appoints judges to lower Federal courts too, so the amount of mischief a President can do is considerable, considering that future Supreme Court Justices come from the lower Federal courts. Congress can blunt the mischief of course, since Presidential appointees have to pass muster before Congress before they become official "in office", so that keeps the checks and balances intact.
Which side gets to make laws? Who did we put into power? If more Liberals get voted in, you'll have Liberal-leaning laws and courts to back those laws. If we vote in more Conservatives, eventually the Nation will become more Conservative in its laws and its courts. At least that's the lie they told me.
How this gets into the Gun-Control debate--- it sorta depends. If we elect gun-grabbers into office, you can expect tougher laws on gun-ownership and eventually a court system that would back those laws. If we elect a bunch of guys from the radical wing of the NRA, you can eventually have a situation where every baby is given an AR15 the moment he/she comes into the world. By law. Which means the doctor may want to think about it before giving that baby the first slap on the butt, since that baby is armed. So-- who we elect is sort of important, eh?