MADISON AWARD GOES TO UP AND COMING COMMENTATOR
Christian Orr, a sophomore majoring in international relations at the University of Southern California (USC), won a Madison Award for a pro gun commentary entitled "Anti-gun Efforts Doomed to Fail" in the USC Daily Trojan newspaper. Orr explained that, "The failure of gun control to bring down the crime rate and the proven effectiveness of private gun ownership as a tool" to prevent crime is not enough to stop the gun grabbers.
Orr believes that by examining the past and present events, we can see why gun control will never work. One of the many problems he notes is that, "The American people have shown a historical tendency to disregard laws that they find to be unjust, from Alien and Sedition Acts, to Prohibition, to many of the gun laws on the books." He listed people’s refusal to turn in "assault weapons" in NY city and the illegally carrying of firearms in states like California and Texas where no legal option to carry is available.
"Think about it: If you have to walk around in a crime-infested neighborhood, you may have to choose between either committing a misdemeanor for carrying a concealed weapon or risking being a helpless victim while your natural rights to life, liberty and property are stripped way from you. Tough choice, eh?" wrote Orr.
He also pointed out that, "Gun control measures have a much easier time getting passed when they are decided on by a municipal legislature, Congress, executive order, etc., rather than by popular vote. . .". The Brady Bill, "assault weapon" ban, and the Morton Grove’s total ban on handguns were listed as gun control victories.
However, Orr reminded readers that, "When anti-gun bills are left to the will of the people, the road to passage becomes a much bumpier one. In the same year of the Morton Grove ban, California voters defeated Proposition 15, a referendum proposal to freeze the number of handguns in the state, by a margin of two-to-one."
Such legislation would be damaging, wrote Orr, warning that, "Not only does law enforcement fail to protect society as a whole, but law enforcement officers have no obligation to protect the individual, as the Supreme Court ruled in DeShaney v. Winnebago County Department of Social Services in 1989."
Orr ended by urging the Supreme Court to act soon and proclaimed that it is, "Only logical for the judicial branch to recognize the Second Amendment right as an individual one, protected from both state and national infringement, given the logic of some of its decisions and of the intent of the framers of the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment. But, then again, this is the federal government; asking them to think logically is expecting a bit much."