New gun law to take away rights for just being arrested for drug use

[Atypical Liberal]

http://dailycaller.com/2011/03/23/new-gun-control-legislation-would-prohibit-those-arrested-but-not-convicted-of-drug-crimes-from-possessing-firearms/

"To clear up any confusion, Schumer’s bill would expand that “inference” to say: if you’ve ever been arrested for any kind of drug use or possession in the past five year, you can be denied the lawful possession of a firearm.

The bill’s definition of an “unlawful user” also includes anyone arrested for drug paraphernalia within the past five years if the paraphernalia is found have traces of a drug, and those who make an “admission” to using or possessing a controlled substance in the past five years. The meaning of “admission,” however, is not defined.

Schumer’s office was unavailable for comment. One thing is clear, though: the senator’s legislation would prohibit a lot more innocent-until-proven-guilty people from possessing firearms.

A little more than 1,600,000 people were arrested in 2009 on drug violations, according to statistic from the Federal Bureau of Investigations. About half of those people were arrested on marijuana charges, with simple drug possession — rather than sale or manufacturing — accounting for nine-tenths of those collars, according to Reason magazine. It’s those last set of figures that could very well rally two groups most people might consider odd bed-fellows: pot-smokers and firearms enthusiasts."

So, regardless of whether or not you have actually been convicted in a court of law, you could have your Constitutional rights stripped just for being arrested for using drugs.

They shouldn't be arresting people for using drugs in the first place. But you certainly should not loose a Constitutional right just because you have been arrested. You know, "innocent until proven guilty" and all that?

[GreenStormCloud]

1. Sounds unconstitutional to me.

Due process and all that stuff.

[Davis_X_Machina]

2. Can't apply for Federal financial aid, either....

...but no one thought to write that into the Bill of Rights two hundred plus years ago, so that's ok.

[petronius]

5. It's also common for drug-related property seizures to need only an arrest

and not a conviction, right? There's far too much WoD foolishness that needs to be reined in, including the proposal in the OP...

[rl6214]

17. But that's the entire arguement of gun control

Take away or heavily regulate the the legal ownership of firearms because you MIGHT do something. You know, legal firearm owner until you do something illegal. Where have I heard that before?

I know, here's one reference:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=118&topic_id=393962&mesg_id=394011

[Remmah2]

20. What of the falsely accused?

Trumped up charges.

[jaxx]

3. The Daily Caller is the blog Ginni Thomas is going to write for.....

March 22, 2011, 3:07 pm
Virginia Thomas to Write for Daily Caller
By MICHAEL D. SHEAR

Virginia Thomas, the wife of Justice Clarence Thomas of the Supreme Court, is set to be a special correspondent for the Daily Caller, a news Web site run by the conservative commentator Tucker Carlson.

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/22/virginia-thomas-to-write-for-daily-caller/

just sayin

[Atypical Liberal]

13. Don't know her.

Didn't know her or the Daily Caller. I picked up the link from Reddit.com

[rl6214]

18. So the source of the information calls into question

the validity of the the information? Or are you questioning the integrity of the poster?

Is this link better for you?

http://www.fixgunchecks.org/detail/2011-03-schumer-fgc-act

[Tippy]

4. innocent until proven guilty.....but

I know of a case where a man and his wife were cooking meth in there house with three children present....had their first hearing last Monday...Yesterday the children had hair folicle testing done, they owned guns and had them in the house with the kids.....I know it is not right but today I don't give a crap if they ever get their constitutional rights back...and I hope they get a very long sentence....

[benEzra]

15. Sounds like they could be *convicted* and thereby have their rights revoked via due process.

Schumer's bill would do away with that due process, and allow revocation of rights from people who were arrested by mistake, or for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or for responsibly using medicinal cannabis, or whatever. I don't agree with that.

[Night Crawler]

6. Anything that keeps guns out of the hands of

people is all right by me. Alcohol violations should be included.

Guns kill people, it's just what they do.

[lawodevolution]

8. Guns are more safe to be around than doctors. 99.99 percent of gun uses don't involve violence so no

Guns don't just kill people, that is not what they do

[ProgressiveProfessor]

9. What other basic rights and civil liberties do you oppose?

[right2bfree]

49. Owning a gun is not a civil liberty. People have rights including the right not to be killed by...

an unstable person with a gun.

[rrneck]

11. Who do they kill? nt

[one-eyed fat man]

14. You should just LOVE Carolyn McCarthy

She wants to restrict all servicemen who are combat veterans from owning guns. She has proposed legislation to have all VA and military health records included in NICS.

Rudyard Kipling had her kind pegged a century ago!

The Widow's Uniform is not the soldier-man's disgrace.
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute!"
But it's "Saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot;
An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please;
An' Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool -- you bet that Tommy sees!

[rl6214]

19. So to sum it your post up

Authoritarian-check

Guns are meant to kill-check

No empirical evidence-check

[GreenStormCloud]

24. They also protect people.

My wife is alive because she had her gun on her when a mugger targeted her.

[right2bfree]

50. Alchohol and drugs both should be included. Yeah, guns make it easy to kill people. nt

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

7. What does he think about someone getting an DUI? Alcohol SHOULD be included in this.

But your right...
They shouldn't be arresting people for using drugs in the first place. But you certainly should not loose a Constitutional right just because you have been arrested. You know, "innocent until proven guilty" and all that?

[DWC]

36. Approximately 1/3 of all gun deaths

in the USA are drug related.

You wrote "They shouldn't be arresting people for using drugs in the first place." Illegal drug users and dealers are criminals.

If the users quit using the dealers would quit dealing, gun deaths and other violent crime would reduce dramatically.

The money spent on illegal drugs is paying for murder.

Semper Fi,

[ProgressiveProfessor]

10. Schumer is such a putz

He is an anti gun nut to the point of it overflowing into everything he puts forward.

[X_Digger]

12. +1

Why doesn't it surprise me that Chuckles is the sponsor..

[Bold Lib]

16. Let's apply this standard to being able to vote. I wonder how far that

would fly.

[slackmaster]

21. Is there no end to the 'tardery of the authoritarians?

:nuke:

[David West]

22. Hilariously enough...

I know several ostensibly "pro gun" "conservatives" who would probably support legislation like this. Irrational fear and hatred of weed is like the right's version of the hoplophobe.

[Callisto32]

34. I thought the same thing.

Actually, what I thought was "sounds kind of like a Republican thing, since he is demonizing drugs...But, wait. It sounds like a (establishment) Democrat thing, since it's going after guns! Wait...it's BOTH. Oh, no, it's just authoritarian. Same old same old."

[Euromutt]

37. As one guy's sig line on CalGuns put it...

"The problem with supporting gun rights is that the Left hates guns, and the Right hates rights."

[krispos42]

23. Wow, so between the Democrats and Republicans, if I smoke a joint...

and get busted for it I can't:

• Vote
  
• Get food stamps
  
• Own a gun
  
• Have more than $20 in cash on me
  
• Live in public housing

I also have to submit to loss of privacy over my body, and submit to drug testing. And it's probably only a matter of time before I lose my driver's license and ability to purchase an airline ticket.


Yay freedom...


And, of course, this predominately affects people inclined to vote Democratic.




Maybe.... we should just stop pursuing the pie-in-the-sky fantasy of a drug-free America?

[DWC]

25. krispos42, I am curious.

Why you feel:

"And, of course, this predominately affects people inclined to vote Democratic."

?

Semper Fi,

[krispos42]

29. Look at the people most likely to be busted for pot

Minorities. Which party do minorities gravitate to? Democrats.


Unless California or New York legalize pot, of course.

[BrookBrew]

26. Another go nowhere law.

not legal, not going to happen.

[Atypical Liberal]

27. But we can't afford to be so dismissive.

The fact is there are people in our legislature who are proposing laws like this, which means they support this sort of shit.

[BrookBrew]

28. Punishing them in the Primaries

is the key. People who run regressive positions should not be tolerated. Even when they win it costs them more to be there.

[right2bfree]

40. Legal and going to happen after 2012. Get used to it now.

Use dope or prescription pysch meds and lose you guns.

Pretty simple stuff that will keep us safer then your ideas
of packing guns all over the place.

[rl6214]

45. Half you people want to legalize drugs to end the violence

now you're saying if you use drugs, you lose your constitutional rights. Which is it going to be?

And I only pack my guns in my luggage because I can't carry on planes. That's the only "packing" of guns I do, all other times I conceal carry.

[jpak]

30. Use dope - lose yer guns

yup

[PavePusher]

31. So, we should apply to alcohol and nicotine to be consistent, yes? n/t

[right2bfree]

39. Alcohol abusers, yes. People using pyschiatric drugs as well however, nt

No reason to outlaw gun from people who dont abuse alcohol and nicotine
doesn't make people shoot each other, like booze does.

[Glassunion]

41. How about coffee?

[PavePusher]

43. Or chocolate? n/t

[Callisto32]

35. "Comin' atcha from BOTH sides!"

[DWC]

42. Think that's funny?

Approximately 1/3 of all gun deaths in the USA are drug related.

The money spent on illegal drugs is buying guns, machetes, knives, etc. and paying for murder.

IMO, if any of that money is coming out of your pocket then you are as guilty as the killers and NO, I do not want you to have legal access to firearms.

But drug users are used to buying their drugs illegally and probably get their guns the same way.

Semper Fi,

[Donnachaidh]

32. Isn't this Tucker Carlson's screaming winger site?

??

[Callisto32]

33. I don't find this shocking.

I know that as a libertarian it is kinda my self-selected WORK to say things like that whenever someone brings up that the government is doing something reprehensible.

But, really, is ANYONE surprised anymore when they read this crap?

[right2bfree]

38. Great idea. We dont need alcoholics and drug users owning guns! nt

Scuhmer is getting a fast trach start on the NFSA, but whatever it takes
if worth it, to keep these bloody weapons off pour streets and in the hands
of the sane, rational gun owners who dont use any drugs.

[friendly_iconoclast]

44. The quality of your Constitutional scholarship is matched only by your political acumen

Ever hear of the phrase "Due process of law"?

As we can see, authoritarianism even has some fans at DU.....

[rl6214]

46. You still won't say what this "NFSA" is.

There is no such thing, it only seems to exist in your mind.

[Glassunion]

48. The National Fire Sprinkler Association

It's the first hit on the Google.
www.nfsa.org

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

47. No due process... it's unconstitutional.