In which Dick Metcalf is

Unless you’ve been hiding from the Intertubz, if you’re any manner of gunnie you’ve heard the story about Dick Metcalf, who decided that his excrement had no odor and that it would be fine and dandy topoop where he lived.

Bad things have befallen him and his editor; they are now both unemployed.

I have failed to comment on this until now because I figured it was simply another case of a “professional gun writer” who had gotten thoroughly too big for his britches and who had been dealt with more or less as usual.

Oh no, Teddy!  Jim Shepherd of The Shooting Wire gave Mr. Metcalf the opportunity to say his piece on the subject in today’s issue.  To put it nicely, Mr. Metcalf is pretty well arrogantly and cluelessly unrepentant.  Seriously, the man really does not seem to understand why all hands turned against him after his piece was published.  Why, we are all traitors to the First Amendment and probably diss our Moms and their apple pies.  Don’t we understand he completely supports the Second Amendment “BUT”?

Dick, let me explain this to you in simple terms.  There is one clause in the Second Amendment that does not appear anywhere else in the Constitution or any other amendment:

“…shall not be infringed.”

There is a reason that is there.  As Judge Alex Kozinski noted In Re SILVEIRA v. LOCKYER, the Second is a doomsday provision.  It’s takes effect when the First and the Fourth and the Fifth and the Tenth and the rest are being trampled.  It is there for a time when brave men and women have no choice but to stand up for our freedom –a time when our own government has become the enemy.

Dickie me boy, that’s why the language of the Second Amendment is so strong.  It is the guarantor of your precious First Amendment.  Without it, the First and all the rest are worth exactly the paper they are printed on, no more.

Now, you may feel free to whine that you were badly treated, and I’ve seen where the gun grabbers are using your misfortune to point out just how unbending most of us are on the subject of our gun rights.  All of you may go pound sand for all I care.  When you slam your dick in a drawer, it’s going to hurt.  It teaches you that you don’t want to do that again.

Now by way of parting, I’m going to answer your 4 questions you asked, just so you can see how someone who actually tries to live by the principles of liberty thinks.

1. If you believe the 2nd Amendment should be subject to no regulation at all, do you therefore believe all laws prohibiting convicted violent repeat criminals from having guns are unconstitutional? Should all such laws be repealed?

Yes I do, and yes they should.  Once upon a time in this country, prison was viewed as a place of punishment.  You committed a crime and got caught, you were tried and if found guilty, you went to prison and turned big rocks into little ones, made license plates, picked up trash or worked on the prison farm.  When you were released, you went back to being a full and complete citizen and were admonished to go forth and sin no more, because next time it would be a lot worse.  The concept was to scare you straight.  (Hey, that would make a heck of a TV show….)

Somewhere along the line, someone got the genius idea that we should “rehabilitate” the poor souls, and punishment was removed from the scene.  Coupled with laws that remove a convicted criminal’s civil rights even after their sentence is served, all sorts of bad guy registries and mandatory sentencing laws, our prisons have went from punishing criminals and keeping them off the streets to keeping them off the streets and giving them an advanced criminal education while they serve their sentences–plus an incentive to go underground when they get out.  Yeah, that’s working out really well.

Personally, I’m all in favor of giving them back their full rights after their full sentence is served at hard labor (Buh-bye TVs, exercise equipment, air conditioning and parole).  Couple that with a well-armed populace and the assumption that killing a bad guy when he is obviously in the middle of committing a crime is a civic duty worthy of reward and accolade and I think the problem will mostly solve itself.

2. Do you also believe all laws establishing concealed-carry licenses are unconstitutional?

Yes.  “…shall not be infringed” and all that.

3. Do you have a concealed-carry license anyway?

Yes.  I also pay my taxes, even though I believe that the Sixteenth Amendment is likely not kosher.  I may be silly, but I’m not stupid.  I pick my battles.

4. Are you thereby violating the Constitution yourself?

No.  Obviously you missed something in civics class.  The Constitution is meant to bind the Federal government, not individuals.  Sheesh.

I guess it’s no small wonder you don’t get the Second Amendment, huh?