All,
NRA would like to ask for your support on Tuesday, November 6th by voting "YES" on 2. The proposed amendment is the strongest constitutional protections for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms ever brought to the voters. The following is a brief overview:
SUPPORT THE SECOND AMENDMENT – VOTE “YES” on 2!!
The proposed Right to Keep and Bear Arms Amendment would amend the Louisiana Constitution to state: “The right of each citizen to keep and bear arms is fundamental and shall not be infringed. Any restriction on this right shall be subject to strict scrutiny.” If accepted by the voters on November 6, Louisiana will have the strongest guarantee of the right to keep and bear arms nationwide.
The proposed amendment reinforces Second Amendment rights, which the U.S. Supreme Court said (in D.C. v. Heller and McDonald v. Chicago) are “fundamental.” Restrictions on fundamental rights are subject to what courts call “strict scrutiny” – meaning that laws may not infringe on the core right, and that regulations must be narrow. In short, gun laws should focus on punishing criminals, not law-abiding citizens.
But the U.S. Supreme Court rulings were won only by 5 to 4 margins. The four dissenting Justices claimed that individuals have no Second Amendment rights and that the government may ban guns – just as D.C. and Chicago had done. If just one of the five Justices resigns or dies, the vote could go the other way. Further, courts nationwide have been trying to nullify the rulings, saying that Second Amendment rights are not fundamental, and that even if they are, restrictions are not subject to strict scrutiny, but instead are subject only to “intermediate scrutiny” or other tests where the right is “balanced” away.
The proposed amendment is needed now not just to stand up to these judicial trends, but also because Louisiana needs to revise its current defective guarantee. The Louisiana Constitution says that the right to bear arms shall not be “abridged,” except that “this provision shall not prevent the passage of laws to prohibit” carrying a concealed weapon – which could be even in one’s own home. Further, the Louisiana Supreme Court has said that the right may be restricted if a majority in the legislature thinks it “reasonable” to do so. The standard for restrictions must be higher than that.
Gun bans and harassment of gun owners routinely occur in places like New York City, New Jersey, and California. Don’t think it cannot happen here. Remember in the wake of Hurricane Katrina when the New Orleans police declared that “no one but the police may have a gun,” and launched a campaign to confiscate guns from citizens in their own homes and businesses, leaving them at the mercy of criminals and looters? Despite a lawsuit, most victims never got their guns back. Nothing like that should ever happen again in Louisiana.
The proposed amendment will protect future generations from any legislative power grabs and rubber stamping by future courts that would disrespect the right. Its language is historic, and it will send a message nationwide that Louisiana stands in the forefront of states that will not tolerate infringements on our fundamental right to keep and bear arms.
Also, please "LIKE" NRA's "YES on 2" Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/voteyeson2