Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

The Constitution Meets Two Professors

Friday, August 29, 2014

This is a tale of two professors. One is among the most respected scholars of the
U.S. Constitution and an unwavering defender of the rights and liberties that our nation’s Founders recognized and enshrined. He is Jonathan Turley, a professor of law at George Washington University. Among his high-profile positions was his iconoclastic recognition of the Second Amendment as protecting an individual right, taken in a very public break with many of his fellow liberals in legal academia. He is steadfast in defense of our system of checks and balances between the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government—the framework that provides the remarkable stability of our Republic.

The second is a self-anointed “professor” who was once a reportedly undistinguished part-time law lecturer in Chicago. His name is Barack Obama. His constitutional views were summed up in a fundraising pitch to a group of his uber-wealthy campaign donors. In bragging that he could enact a constitutional amendment banning political speech by groups like the NRA, President Obama said, “Now, I taught constitutional law. I don’t tinker with the Constitution lightly.”

He doesn’t need to “tinker.” He ignores it.

Through the intervening years into his second term, there is an apt description of President Obama’s rule: that he has “aggregated power to the point that it has created instability,” something “that was never what the framers intended.”

Those are the words of Professor Turley who supports some Obama policy goals, but abhors and fears the president’s destructive methods to force them on the American public through circumventing the other co-equal branches.

So what are former “professor” Obama’s views on the Constitution and on the balance of powers?

Most recently he chided the Founding Fathers for creating a U.S. Senate with equal representation from each state.

As reported in the Washington Times, “Mr. Obama told a small group of wealthy supporters that there are several hurdles to keeping Democrats in control of the Senate and recapturing the House. One of those problems, he said, is the apportionment of two Senate seats to each state regardless of population.

“‘Obviously, the nature of the Senate means that California has the same number of Senate seats as Wyoming. That puts us at a disadvantage,’” he said.

So Obama would undo the “great compromise” of 1787, which created our true republican form of government rather than a democracy. The House is apportioned according to population, which means today that highly urbanized and decidedly
anti-Second Amendment states like New York, New Jersey and California, far outweigh states like Idaho and Utah.

That compromise made each state equal in power in the Senate, and made the
term of senators six years instead of two years as in the House, thus insulating
senators from the intense public political fury of the moment. The Senate, intentionally, was established as a deliberative body—where the predilections of the House could
be cautiously debated, and amended or fairly put to rest. It is a body in which the
rights of the minority could be protected. The Senate was designed as a safety brake.
In fact, that compromise was the very reason smaller states agreed to join under a common constitution.

If you want to see what Obama has in mind, look at state legislatures—all apportioned according to population. The political machines of those big states rule everything. And those urban centers are the reason for draconian gun laws in New York, California, Maryland and Connecticut, among others.

We know President Obama plans to trash the Second Amendment through executive action, ignoring his oath to defend the Constitution.

Back to Professor Turley:

In testimony before Congress this year, he warned, “We are in the midst of a constitutional crisis with sweeping implications for our system of government.

“… the framers created a system that was designed to avoid one principle thing, the concentration of power in any one branch.” That concept, he said was “at a tipping point … The current threat to legislative authority in our system is comprehensive—spanning from misappropriation of funds to circumvention of appointments to negation of legislative provisions.”

Professor Turley has repeatedly called for reining in the abuse of power of the Obama executive branch. I couldn’t agree more. And the most direct way is at the ballot box where power is in our hands and in the hands of our fellow citizens. We can teach “Professor” Obama a lesson that he can’t ignore. We must vote in November to change control of the Senate by exerting our own beliefs and principles of liberty where it counts most—in the polling booth. Nothing could be more important to the restoration of the balance that has secured our liberty for so long.

TRENDING NOW
Colorado: Mandatory Storage Bill Passes General Assembly and Semi-Auto Ban Temporarily Removed from Calendar

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Colorado: Mandatory Storage Bill Passes General Assembly and Semi-Auto Ban Temporarily Removed from Calendar

In a temporary reprieve for Colorado gun owners, the semi-auto ban HB24-1292 has been removed from the calendar. But we cannot let our guard down as gun control advocates can bring it up for a vote at ...

The U.S. Supreme Court Looks at Government “Blacklists”

News  

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

The U.S. Supreme Court Looks at Government “Blacklists”

Much of the attention this past week in the United States Supreme Court was the oral arguments in National Rifle Association of America v. Vullo, No. 22-842, a First Amendment case on whether government officials ...

Colorado: Semi-Auto Ban Passes Committee and Sensitive Places Bill Hearing Rescheduled for Today!

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Colorado: Semi-Auto Ban Passes Committee and Sensitive Places Bill Hearing Rescheduled for Today!

Yesterday the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on House Bill 24-1292, the semi-auto ban, that lasted over 12 hours where hundreds of patriotic Coloradans overloaded the committee with opposition testimony. The hearing concluded with an ...

NRA Files Amicus Brief Asking Supreme Court to Hear Antonyuk v. James

News  

Second Amendment  

Monday, March 25, 2024

NRA Files Amicus Brief Asking Supreme Court to Hear Antonyuk v. James

In response to the NRA’s victory in Bruen, which secured every American’s right to carry arms, NY passed the “Concealed Carry Improvement Act,” severely restricting carry throughout the state. The 2nd Circuit upheld many of ...

25 years and one PLCAA Later, Chicago is Still Harassing Gunmakers

News  

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

25 years and one PLCAA Later, Chicago is Still Harassing Gunmakers

On March 19, the city of Chicago filed suit against handgun manufacturer Glock. Seeking to shift responsibility for the city’s woeful governance, Chicago’s lawsuit blames the popular firearm manufacturer for the third-party criminal misuse of ...

Washington: Governor Signs Anti-Gun Legislation

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Washington: Governor Signs Anti-Gun Legislation

Today, Governor Inslee signed five anti-gun bills into law that were recently passed by the Washington State Legislature. The bills include:

Anti-gun Democrats Seek to Undermine Law Passed to Protect Veterans’ Rights

News  

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Anti-gun Democrats Seek to Undermine Law Passed to Protect Veterans’ Rights

Last week we reported on a major breakthrough on behalf of veterans who risked losing their Second Amendment rights because of a long-running scheme by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to report certain beneficiaries ...

Colorado: Semi-Auto Ban Scheduled for Floor Vote Today!

Thursday, March 21, 2024

Colorado: Semi-Auto Ban Scheduled for Floor Vote Today!

Today, the House is scheduled to vote on HB24-1292, the ban on semi-automatic firearms. Please contact your legislators today by using the button below and urge them to OPPOSE HB24-1292!

Louisiana: Firearms Bills on the Move - Take Action Now!

Monday, March 25, 2024

Louisiana: Firearms Bills on the Move - Take Action Now!

A number of firearm-related bills, including enhanced preemption, are moving in the Louisiana Legislature. It's critical that NRA members and Second Amendment supporters get involved to keep the momentum going!

Pennsylvania: Senate Committee Passes Full Inclusion Sunday Hunting

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Pennsylvania: Senate Committee Passes Full Inclusion Sunday Hunting

On Wednesday, the Senate Game & Fisheries Committee voted 7-4 to pass Senate Bill 67 to the Senate floor for a vote. 

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.