Lawmaker: Tweak Constitution to affirm gun rights

WND/ Taylor Rose

Sen. Dianne Feinstein/ metroactive.com

WASHINGTON – A state lawmaker in Montana is proposing amendments to the U.S. Constitution to deal with the suggestion from Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., that would require Americans to register their guns, and critics say, would even lead to their confiscation.

Feinstein’s idea has been labeled “treason” on a White House petition site, and has earned the ire of Rep. Jerry O’Neil, R-Columbia Falls, who told WND he’d like to see some changes made to protect state’s rights and the rights protected by the Second Amendment.

He said he’s starting to push for the state of Montana to press for the adoption of two new constitutional amendments to protect firearm ownership and national sovereignty.

“I am asking for the Montana legislature to request an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, to amend the Commerce Clause,” he said.

He said in Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution the word “among” would be replaced with “between” so that it reads, “Congress shall have power …to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and interstate commerce between the several states, and with the Indian tribes…”

“States have the right to do what they wish inside their own borders,” he said.

And referring to firearms, he said, “It gives the states the right to make whatever guns they want so long as they [firearms] stay inside the own borders.”

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Additionally, O’Neil said, in reference to national sovereignty and more specifically the Small Arms Treaty, he wants Article 2, Section 2 of the Constitution to be amended, with the insertion of “subject to this Constitution” to therefore state “The president…shall have the power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, subject to this Constitution, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur…”

O’Neil said the insertion is essential thanks to the growing power of international treaties and due to the fact that too often, in his opinion, international treaties are implemented and used to override the U.S. Constitution.

O’Neil said that with these changes, the government “cannot amend the Constitution via fiat.”

Under Article 5 of the U.S. Constitution, state legislatures can submit proposals for amendments to the Constitution and it is O’Neil’s hope that the Montana legislature will take up his ideas.

Feinstein’s move was a reaction to the school shooting in Connecticut in which 20 children and six adults were victims. O’Neil said, “The Connecticut shooting came at an opportune time for her.”

He added, “Sen. Feinstein has been working on an assault weapons ban for at least eight years.”

Keep your gun rights: Sign new petition

“It will not make a significant dent in the murder rate of the United States,” he said.

O’Neil attributes this move to restrict firearm ownership to an ever-increasing control-oriented state, saying, “It appears the people who want more control over their citizens, want to limit their access to weapons.”

In fact, politicians in New York already have started discussing gun restrictions, registration and confiscation.

O’Neil has been in public service in Montana since 2001, where he served as a state senator until 2009, when he switched over and became a representative in the Montana House.

He is widely known for his ardent defense of civil liberties, limited government and constitutionalism. He has become known more recently for his request to be paid in gold and silver coins to guard himself against a potential collapse of the U.S. dollar.

The pushback from the state was just one headwind Feinstein was facing as a result of her precipitous decision to attack the Second Amendment.

Another front was on the White House website forum for citizen petitions.

There, it took only hours for thousands of Americans to sign onto the request to “try Sen. Dianne Feinstein in a federal court for treason to the Constitution.”

It explained, “The Constitution was written to restrain the government. No amendment is more important for this purpose than the 2nd Amendment. The 2nd Amendment was written so the power could be kept with the citizenry in the face of a tyrannical government. It was well understood the Constitution acknowledged certain rights that could not be limited by government.”

The petition continued, “Sen. Dianne Feinstein has made it clear she does not believe in the Constitution or the inalienable rights of Americans to keep and bear arms. She is actively working to destroy the 2nd Amendment with her 2013 assault weapons ban. For this reason we the people of the United States petition for her to be tried in federal court for treason to the Constitution.”

Feinstein’s actual proposal would “ban the sale, the transfer, the transportation and the possession” of certain weapons, the California senator said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “Not retroactively, but prospectively. And it will ban the same for big clips, drums or strips of more than 10 bullets.”

It would ban scores of firearms, including military-style “assault” weapons and high-capacity ammunition feeding devices. It also calls for the creation of a federal register that would require millions of gun owners to be fingerprinted and photographed.

The following is a summary of the legislation posted on Feinstein’s official senatorial website:

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