is he shootin from the hip?

...a sensible interpretation of the amendment is that it was written to
allow the people to raise a militia for protection and to hunt for food.

Where, exactly, does the statement "The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed" imply anything about a militia?

This idiot obviously went to government school.

-Dave

When in doubt, always side with freedom, as it sure beats the hell out of the alternative.

Connecting the 2nd amendment to the abortion issue is laughable. And newspapers wonder why their circulation is nose diving to the ground.

Double-barreled pathetic piece of print.

"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh

and their complete inability to make simple distinctions?

"...the irony being that those yelling the loudest about the right to life are usually those yelling almost as loud about their right to carry weapons that kill."

Listen up moron it's not that complicated. Put your paper-thin irony where the sun don't shine and understand this...criminals use weapons to maim or intimidate...we own/carry weapons to defend!

... *opens mouth*

... *closes it again*

*goes to check the locks on her gun cabinet*

"If you think you're finished shopping for Christmas, why not start on next year"

The maturity of his thinking demonstrates why he's known as "Junior". 

"Beauty is only skin deep, but liberal's to the bone." - me

He will never know how the 2nd amendment has kept the rights that we have from being taken away. I served 4 years overseas while in the Navy. I can tell you from experience their is no other country I would rather live in then the USA. YOU HAVE NO RIGHTS in most of the countries I have been to. John Feinstein go live in the Phillipines, Indonesia, Singapore, China and any other asian country. In most of the countries I have listed 3 or more people together can be constituted as a mob and be thrown in prison and held without counsel for 3 to six months before you get to a court date. 

"...the irony being that those yelling the loudest about the right to life
are usually those yelling almost as loud about their right to carry
weapons that kill."

The irony is that he doesn't get it. The right to bear arms is consistent with protecting innocent lives just as being pro-life is. His "weapons that kill" comment shows just what a wimp he is. Do you mean to tell me if someone breaks into his home he wouldn't defend his life and his family to the death? Someone needs to explain the difference to Feinstein between "killing" and "murder."

“I am the latte-sipping, New York Times-reading, Volvo-driving, no-gun-owning, effete, politically correct, arrogant liberal.” --Barack Obama

I can only think of two ways that the 2nd Amendment could be repealed; 1) By mandate of THE PEOPLE via state-by-state (de?)ratification, and 2) By declaration of martial law and suspension of the Constitution.

...One of these two would and could never happen, the other? I almost expect it...

Am I missing any other avenues?

the irony being that those yelling the loudest about the right to abort and kill babies are usually those yelling almost as loud about the rights of vile murderers not to be executed for their crimes.

If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same...
Yours is the earth and all that's in it...

Actually, if you read then entire 2nd Amendment, the word militia is in there. This does not negate the right of Americans to own guns for general purposes. The actual Amendment reads "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free
State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be
infringed.” I haven't been a hunter for over a decade, but I still own a number of guns, including pistols for home defense. If Liberals are so worried about people having guns, why don't they support more firearms education to prevent some of the stupid accidents that tend to occur from people who have them in their home. Too many people decide that they need a gun but have no idea how to properly handle it or how to keep it safe in case a child in the home gets their hands on it. Always handle any gun as if it is loaded and never keep a loaded firearm in your home. Trigger locks are always a good idea when children are in the home. If you don't have children and have a home security gun, you don't need locks, since they will prevent you from quick access in case of an intruder in your home.

My motto,

Anyone found here at night, will be found here in the morning.

It seems to me that Hollywood types and the sports media often wade into political issues to avoid having their professions deemed frivolous.  Ironically, these people tend to reinforce the dim actor/dim sportswriter stereotype when they speak, because it's apparent that they cannot discuss issues outside the protection of their professional bubbles. 

John Feinstein is good at what he does: writing self-absorbed books about college basketball coaches and traditional college football rivalries.  That he has to seek the finest of fine points in attempts to make baseball and golf seem remotely interesting is another story.  But Feinstein effectively laid the groundwork for conventional opinion at ESPN...Michael Jordan: Good, Bobby Knight: Bad, Coach K: Good, Duke Lacrosse Team: Bad, Title IX: Revolutionary (in the "good" sense), talented players skipping college for the pros: Bad.  John Feinstein has never emerged from the comfort of the sports/academia shelter.  He's a Duke graduate and has made himself an uncritical apologist for "higher education".  And it's frankly easy to become a mouthpiece for academia and the collegiate athletics bureaucracy when that is the primary circle you've frequented for the last 30-plus years. 

It's a phenomenon similar to that which happens to erstwhile Conservative Republicans that get elected to the Senate.  They become intoxicated with their status and their access to those regarded as "elite", and they lose touch with those who were responsible for getting them to the Senate in the first place.  They legislate to impress their peers when they should be legislating to represent their constituents.  John Feinstein writes for the approval of his professional peers, who in turn tell the public how bright he is and how good his work is (and how, if we are to truly educate ourselves, we might consider picking up a copy).

So this Plaxico Burress nightclub incident occurs.  A professional athlete carries an unregistered firearm into a public establishment and manages to accidentally shoot himself.  Because the story is about a football player, Feinstein treats it as an invitation to lecture readers on the merits of the Second Ammendment.  From his "In a Perfect World" soapbox, he trots out the tired academic interpretation of framer's intent...he calls this interpretation "sensible".  Sure, the Constitution can't possibly enumerate the right of citizens to keep and bear arms, the framer's simply intended to allow for a militia (which we apparently don't need anymore) and to permit hunting for food (and who needs an antiquated firearm when there is perfectly good tofu to be eaten).  Then, ignoring the fact that there is no popular movement behind the repeal of the Second Ammendment (not to mention the Constitutional hurdles required to enact such a repeal), Feinstein wishes Obama could focus his energies on scrapping part of the Bill of Rights.  But he acknowledges that Obama can't because he has to "deal with" the economy and the war.  I find it particularly interesting that he feels compelled to use such a throw-away expression as "deal with", as it is clearly designed to highlight problems without committing to any specific "solutions". 

This article is obviously the work of someone who was seeking affirmation beyond the traditional sports media peer base.  That he needed a sports-related incident as an excuse to climb on his soapbox illustrates that he still needs the protection of "what he knows" to pontificate on what he doesn't know.   

"Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it." -Ronald Reagan

fitzfong.blogspot.com

An important point I think should be closely scrutinized is another aspect of the Burress case: New York has a MANDATORY 3.5 year jail sentence for the crime Burress was charged with. The idiot Mayor has already made the unbelieveably stupid comment that (paraphrased) "This law was not meant to apply to cases like this"...I'm sorry, cases like what? The priviledged class?

It will be interesting to see whether Burress spends even a night in jail, much less the mandatory sentence meant for the peasantry.

...All gang banga's gots to do is get hisself famous (or elected to Congress), then the rules change...