Mark America

I’ve made no secret of the fact that while I admire certain aspects of the way Donald Trump conducts himself, I also have a few problems with his historical behaviors and a number of his policy positions.  I have also noted when President Trump does the right thing with respect to policy, and I’ve also defended him against the outrageous and phony “Russian Collusion” hoax because I value the truth, and I revere justice.  Fighting off the dishonest leftist hordes is a common aim of this blog, but now, I’m faced with the predicament that I feared most about a Donald Trump presidency:  I’m going to have to fight against this president’s moments of foolishness, and his own attacks on the constitution.  In this case, President Trump has decided and announced to a gathering of the nation’s governors that he intends to ban bump-stocks without Congress. Let me apologize in advance for the poor video quality, but in the interests of haste, sometimes you take what you can get:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8h2hY0ZYmA

My response to this is simple: Mr. President, making or amending laws is not your role under our constitution. Also, your technical ignorance is not sufficient excuse to simply strip Americans of their property rights.  In order to carry out such a thing, Donald Trump will need to ignore the fact that all legislative powers of the United States are vested in a bicameral Congress. Article I of the constitution is explicit on this point:

“All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.”

This could neither be more plain nor more definitive.

At the same time, hundreds of thousands or perhaps millions of Americans own bump-stocks.  This being the case, even if Congress wanted to ban these items, they cannot simply do so without considering the dicta of the Fifth Amendment:

“No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”

Most of these “bump-stocks” range in price from around one-hundred dollars to upwards of five-hundred dollars. More, some companies exist that manufacture these devices, and such legislation would effectively put them out of business.  Where is the “just compensation” Mr. President?

This is the sort of thing that will lead to people walking away from Mr. Trump in 2020.  If he goes forward with such a thing, I will not only fight him, but I will vote for his opponent, or a third-party alternative in 2020.  I’m sorry, but if Mr. Trump can’t respect the limits and bounds of the Constitution, then I have no more respect for him than for previous autocrats who have recently occupied the Oval Office.  This is not acceptable, Mr. President.