Cal Thomas Quotes
If a state, or nation, has laws it will not enforce for political reasons, it mocks both the law and politics, to say nothing of the cultural order.
Thomas, Cal. "If a State, or Nation, Has Laws." Tribune Content Agency, 2014.
The professor was addressing a theory of some gun rights advocates that the framers of the constitution intended the 2nd Amendment as a check on a dictatorial Federal Government. The history of the militias shows that they have been used by states never to foment rebellion but often called out to suppress rebellions of citizens who thought that their rights had been infringed such as Shays Rebellion, the Whisky Rebellion and the repeated use of state militias to enforce laws and quell riots and labor disputes.
Some of America’s very difficult counter-insurgency efforts like Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan have been problematical since Burt’s necessary popular national government was not in place in these efforts. The governments were corrupt, incompetent, and uncaring about the majority of people. Arguably, if there were a “responsive and politically popular national government” in place, there may well have not been a serious insurgency to begin with.
In Rhode Island only land owners could vote. When most Americans were farmers and owned land, this was not an anti-democratic requirement, but Rhode Island developed very rapidly with the Industrial Revolution and the shipping and fishing industries. In 1841 60 percent of the adult males in Rhode Island could NOT vote. The non voters tended to be Catholic Immigrants and Black skilled freemen. Thomas Wilson Dorr of an old RI family called a “People’s Convention” which voted a “New Constitution eliminating the land ownership requirement. The regular government saw this as a rebellion and the Governor ordered the State Militia to take Dorr and his followers into custody. However, most of the militia were Catholics and they refused, Governor King asked President Tyler for Federal troops and was refused. Finally the “rebellion” fell apart and Dorr was captured and sent to prison for life. But the regular legislature having gotten the message, within a year passed a new constitution which gave all free males—white and black—the right to vote. Dorr was released from prison and a few years later was pardoned and returned his civil rights. Thus ended what is sometimes called Dorr’s Rebellion.
Baker led the legal team for George W. Bush and had filed numerous lawsuits including to the U. S. Supreme Court.
He was specifically referring to the Marijuana Laws where some prosecutors enforce the laws but most do not.
John Calvin Thomas is an American syndicated columnist, pundit, author and radio commentator.
