Statement From Governor Allen Commending the Supreme Court’s Ruling Overturning the D.C. Gun Ban
Thursday, June 26th, 2008For Immediate Release:
June 26, 2008
Statement from former Governor George Allen
Mount Vernon, Va. – Former Governor and U.S. Senator George Allen issued the following statement today, commending the Supreme Court ruling overturning Washington D.C.’s ban on firearms.
“The Supreme Court has come down on the side of personal liberty today by affirming the Second Amendment to mean that Americans have a Constitutional right to own firearms for self-defense and hunting. After 32 years, citizens of Washington, D.C. will be able to defend themselves against criminals who have never followed the city’s prohibition on firearms.
“When I was Governor of Virginia, we passed a “concealed carry” law, allowing citizens to protect themselves, their families and their property. One of the primary responsibilities of government is to protect citizens from criminals. A government prohibition against a law-abiding citizen owning and possessing a handgun is a preposterous, clearly unconstitutional infringement of that natural and fundamental right to self-defense.
“This decision also highlights how important it is to appoint judges that interpret our Constitution as originally written and not legislate from the bench.”
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June 29th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
Amen to that. I feel so lucky to live in the Commonwealth where the importance of the Second Amendment is known and protected. Much like anything else, government prohibitions on behavior only keep the honest men honest. Criminals have always had firearms and always will have firearms, they do here and they do in San Francisco, Chicago, New York and even in Europe. Laws banning firearms are do nothing so much as forcing the honest, law abiding citizens to bring knives to gunfights.
On the lines of your comment about the Supreme Court Justices….Thank God for George W. Bush. Without his supreme court nominations, we’d be talking about the Bill of Rights as the first 9 amendments to the Constitution and worrying about what we’d do if intruders entered our homes. I fear that the result would be many more Sean Taylor stories and many fewer good man protects family stories. Thanks for your service in the Senate and as our Governor. God Bless.
June 29th, 2008 at 8:53 pm
I’ll confess I was nervous and poised to be angry on the heels of the horrible rulings on the death penalty for child rapists and constitutional rights for terrorists. I pray that Scalia and Thomas can hold on for potentialy 8 more years so it will definitly be a Republican president that replaces them.