Richard Hamblen and Gun Rights

Richard Hamblen is a businessman from Nashville,Tennessee. In 2004, he held the rank of Captain in the Tennessee State Guard, which is a state-created citizen militia. As an officer in a 3,500-member force, he noted that the Tennessee State Guard only had 21 M16A1 automatic rifles in the armory. So, in order to be better able to train the Guard troops, he made a lawful purchase of M16 parts for assembly, complying with all Federal laws regarding the purchases. Still, the BATF raided his business on an anonymous “tip” that he possessed machine guns (where he kept the guns in a locked safe), arrested him and confiscated the weapons. He was convicted and sentenced to 15 months in Federal prison. He served his time and is out on parole.

Mr. Hamblen has been locked in a battle with the Federal courts since his arrest in 2004. On March 30, 2010, he has filed a Writ of Certiorari before the US Supreme Court so that the merits of his case may be heard.

He seeks a decision on whether it is Constitutional under the 2nd Amendment for a citizen to own the same weapons that are presently the standard issue rifles for the US military. He states, “If such a fundamental right as the right to keep and bear arms can in effect be nullified by sophistic wordplay, then what chance does the rest of the Constitution stand?”

Listen to Mr. Hamblen explain his situation and his case below:

Then, if you would like to read his Writ in its entirety, go to:

Hamblen vs. United States

As you know, I look at everything through the secession-colored glasses of DumpDC. So, my personal opinion of Mr. Hamblen’s effort is that it is a useless waste of the talents, energy and assets of a fine man.

First, the US Constitution is a dead document. So, haggling over its technicalities is a waste of everyone’s time. The Federal government is very pleased to have a man like Mr. Hamblen incur monstrous legal fees and spend his children’s inheritance on an issue like this. The Fed’s resources are almost infinite, his are not.

Second, to expect the Supreme Court to rule on this in light of the Court’s Heller ruling is probably overly optimistic. The Supremes have no intent to ever assert that The People have anything but the rights conferred by government. In fact, Mr. Hamblen and his attorney have inadvertently fallen into this trap by asserting within the Writ that the right to keep and bear arms is a right conferred by the 2nd Amendment. If you read the Writ, you’ll see the “right conferred” phrase repeated in the verbiage. The right to keep and bear arms is a natural right, not a conferred right.

But I think that you should be aware of this court fight and the underlying philosophical issues. Govern yourselves accordingly.

State secession settles this issue once and for all. Tennessee could be its own nation and write its own constitution if it seceded. I hope they redeem themselves as the “Volunteer State” and voluntarily secede from the Union.

Secession is the Hope for Mankind. Who will be first…and wisest?

DumpDC. Six Letters That Can Change History.

© Copyright 2010, Russell D. Longcore. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit is given.